Thomas Oliphant wrote an intriguing column earlier this week for the Boston Globe on the 1932 Democratic Convention when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was first nominated for President.

Oliphant quotes the late Christian Science Monitor columnist Richard Strout on the lackluster support for FDR. "The convention was only lukewarm to the (New York) governor up to that time. Governor Roosevelt had the votes but not the enthusiasm. His appearance changed all this."

That quote is probably analogous for many voters who supported another candidate over John Kerry in the primaries, and perhaps even for some who voted for the Senator simply because of the momentum his campaign had.

The best advice I've heard for the Kerry campaign for his speech tonight and the months ahead: Let Kerry be Kerry.