Clinton the Preacher
President Clinton's religious appeals are usually quite overt...talking about chidhood in church, prayer, counseling with pastors, but one of the brilliant aspects of last night's speech was his touch about Kerry's attitude for service (even comparing it favorably with his own). "Send me" was the refrain he used to describe it. I'm sure most anyone who grew up in a church like mine has immediate echoes of: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom Shall I send? Who will go for us?' 'Here I am,' I said, 'Send Me!'" (Isaiah 6:8...yes, I had to look it up)

It's a nice way for Clinton to uplift the sense of service to country to a spiritual level, and appeal to that sense of sacrifice, even at the expense of questioning his own decisions. I'm surprised no pundit types have picked up on this religious aspect, and I suppose it could be a coincidence in the speech, but I suspect not. By not referring to the connection directly he avoids putting people off that wouldn't like that, while still speaking to the people that would notice, if only subconsciously.

UPDATE: Amy Sullivan sees the same thing I did. But she has more. It's good stuff.