ms. grandholme, i don't know what happened to her, but she was exciting. but the president of the united states was stable, he was flat, he was repetitive. it's the same thing we've been hearing over and over again, and i think it was a real let- down at the end of the convention, and i think that has given quite frankly the republicans another chance, really, to turn this thing around and win this thing. so i think he could have closed the sale, the president could have, if it had been a tremendous speech and a program in there and something to look forward to but it was the same old speech. >> you think he was melancholy? >> you know, john, i don't know what it was, but he started off, and i just said this is boring. this is not the barack obama that you know -- he wasn't the barack obama of denver, and it certainly wasn't the barack obama of boston. >> was he going through the motions? did you feel that way? >> i think what's happened he's been on that road for a year saying the same things over and over again, and it just didn't seem fresh or exciting