I’m sure most of you saw Barack Obama’s acceptance speech last night and have drawn your own conclusions as to it’s content and it’s effectiveness. I’ll share my thoughts with you and then give the reaction of others and the response of the McCain camp, which was as predictable as hot August days in Texas.

In a nutshell, Obama was magnificent. He answered his critics who say he is all style and no substance by laying out specific objectives that his administration would pursue. He drew stark differences between himself and John McCain, correctly linking McCain with the failed policies of George W. Bush. And he went after McCain, not on personal or character issues, but rather on McCain’s record and what he would do as President. In horse racing that’s called a trifecta, three winners.

Here’s just one reaction to the speech. This is Alex Castellanos, a longtime Republican consultant and a protege of Lee Atwater when it comes to down-and-dirty political warfare. Hearing this should be a cause of concern in the McCain camp.

Then there was the response from the McCain campaign:

“Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama. When the temple comes down, the fireworks end, and the words are over, the facts remain: Senator Obama still has no record of bipartisanship, still opposes offshore drilling, still voted to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 per year, and still voted against funds for American troops in harm’s way. The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready to be President.”

Here is MSNBC’s Chuck Todd’s assessment of that predictable reaction:

The Republicans definitely have a hard act to follow. If the tone of their campaign against Barack Obama so far is any indication, I expect it to be a 4-day slime and smear festival. The icing on the GOP cake will be the expected riveting acceptance speech by that great orator, Senator John McCain. This much I know, I would love to be the person who has the coffee and No-Doz concession in the arena that night.