BETH MAULDIN: “I loved listening to Mr. Obama and hope like hell if he’s elected to the Senate it doesn’t suck the life out of him.”

UPDATE: More here: “Barack Obama gave a fine speech, but it was not a speech that reflects the current Democratic Party.”

But Howard Dean gets a bad review: “going through the motions in a flat performance that should make Hillary Clinton and John Edwards rest easy.”

More on Dean: “Could Dean not find even one nice thing to say about John Kerry? Apparently not. The overwhelming impression that a viewer gets from this convention so far: The only candidate that gets this convention excited is George Bush.”

Matthew Gross: “Of course, all the journalists have a full copy already. Do you see the man behind the curtain yet?”

MORE: Another reader emails:

I have to say, Obama impressed me tonight. He is definetly articluate and a bright star for the democrats. His “One America” speech resulted in a standing ovation from the delegates. However, one must think that Edwards will receive a similar ovation with his more divisive “Two Americas” speech tomorrow night. So which is it: Two Americas or One America? I’m confused. I guess Obama didn’t get the memo about class warfare. It really shows the current problem of the Democratic party.

Indeed. Teresa Heinz Kerry gets a less-warm review:

Not terrible, I guess — but she was Schoenberg and we want our conventions to be Bruce Springsteen. OK, she was early Schoenberg — not atonal, but astringent and chromatic and lugubrious. I don’t know — I’m not sure speechifying is really her event.

Dean didn’t have much of a speech but had some fire, Ron Reagan was OK, Obama had flashes of brilliance at the end but isn’t Clinton yet. I have hopes for Elizabeth Edwards. I bet my mom will like her.

Probably so.