If you want a story told well, hire an actor...

For all the fuss made by the McCain campaign about Barack Obama's "celebrity," last night, the Republicans rolled out their very own celebrity to make the case for John McCain's character. Former Senator, presidential candidate, and Law and Order leading man, Fred Thompson took to the stage on the first real night of the GOP convention to deliver a stirring account of McCain's time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. With his folksy Southern drawl and story-telling prowess, he wove a tale that recounted the beatings, interrogations, and broken limbs, and culminated in the line: "Now being a POW doesn't qualify anyone to be President, but it does reveal character."

Watch for yourself in the excerpt posted below. Thompson's speech was easily the highlight of an otherwise slow night in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Comments

[JOHN CHUCKMAN, TORONTO]

Speeches by Thompson, Lieberman, and Bush in one day would be enough to collapse a large, healthy horse.

Matt Spense, I am amazed by your stamina in being able to promptly report after consuming the equivalent of three bottles of sleeping pills.

[Dave]

You will notice that no one ever uses the word "Torture" to describe McCains experince as a POW. It seems as if the word is now taboo.