by Evie Stone

2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry was in a tough position as a DNC speaker. He had to deliver a speech criticizing his longtime friend — a man he once considered as a potential running-mate — John McCain.

He skirted the problem by differentiating between "Senator McCain" and "Candidate McCain" — the "myth of the maverick" vs. "the reality of a politician":

Candidate McCain now supports the wartime tax cuts that Senator McCain once denounced as immoral. Candidate McCain criticizes Senator McCain's own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would now vote against the immigration bill that Senator McCain wrote.

Kerry then added this reference to a gaffe from his own campaign that turned into a huge Republican talking point as they painted him as a flip-flopper:

Are you kidding? Talk about being for it before you're against it.

Let me tell you, before he ever debates Barack Obama, John McCain should finish the debate with himself.

The bulk of Kerry's speech focused on foreign policy and shoring up Barack Obama's national security credentials. He asked repeatedly, "who can we trust to keep America safe?" to the crowd's response of "Barack Obama!" before favorably comparing Obama's foreign policy positions to McCain's. And he offered this scathing dismissal of McCain's anti-Obama talking points:

How insulting to suggest that those who question the mission, question the troops. How pathetic to suggest that those who question a failed policy doubt America itself. How desperate to tell the son of a single mother who chose community service over money and privilege that he doesn't put America first.

Kerry also referenced the Swift Boat ads that torpedoed his own candidacy with assaults on his military record and patriotism:

This election is a chance for America to tell the merchants of fear and division: you don't decide who loves this country; you don't decide who is a patriot; you don't decide whose service counts and whose doesn't.

Four years ago I said, and I say it again tonight, that the flag doesn't belong to any ideology. It doesn't belong to any political party. It is an enduring symbol of our nation, and it belongs to all the American people. After all, patriotism is not love of power or some cheap trick to win votes; patriotism is love of country.

Kerry was badly stung by his 2004 loss, and his speech tonight revealed some lingering bitterness. His message seemed to be: don't let it happen again.