David O. Atkins at Calitics:

Perez: "We want everyone in this country to succeed and live their own American dream...when all the votes are counted, we are going to shock the world. The Speaker of the House will continue to be from California...President Obama will still be leading our country. We're going to send a message to the teabaggers, make sure they know: we love our country, we want our citizens to succeed. We want everyone to have healthcare...We respect every part of our Constitution. Hell, we've even read it. We have better ideas, we have better candidates, and in Barack Obama, we have a better President."

Them's fightin' words. Wish more Democrats spoke with that sort of clarity. Easy to see why John Perez is the right choice for Speaker.

I'll just leave you with this, also from David at Calitics:

You know, for all the pixels spilled about the mistakes and inadequacies of the Obama administration, there's no question about the difference between the political parties. And there's no question Barack Obama is an extraordinary politician.

But again, the real measure of the success or failure of an event like this is whether the people here will actually get out and work to make a difference in the election. Time will tell.

Whatever your opinion of where we are and where we're going is, the choice on November 2nd falls to one between a Tea Party future where climate change is a lie and safety nets for citizens are unconstitutional, or a future where progress is imperfect, flawed and slow, but progress nevertheless. Is it all shiny like 2008? Not really. It's banged up like the metaphorical car in the ditch, but that car can still move forward. With help.

Please vote on November 2nd.

Bonus: Impressions from 35 feet from the podium