The following analysis by Charles Babington came across the AP wire while Obama’s speech (more from me on that tomorrow) was still in progress. Is this guy really watching the same speech? Or is this a partisan hack job courtesy of AP Washington Bureau Chief Ron Fournier, friend of Karl Rove and John McCain?

Barack Obama, whose campaign theme is “change we can believe in,” promised Thursday to “spell out exactly what that change would mean.”

But instead of dwelling on specifics, he laced the crowning speech of his long campaign with the type of rhetorical flourishes that Republicans mock and the attacks on John McCain that Democrats cheer. The country saw a candidate confident in his existing campaign formula: tie McCain tightly to President Bush, and remind voters why they are unhappy with the incumbent.

Of course, no candidate can outline every initiative in a 35-minute speech – especially one that also must inspire voters, acknowledge key friends, and toss in some autobiography for the newly-interested. And Obama did touch on nitty-gritty subjects, such as the capital gains tax and biofuel investments.

He said he would “find ways to safely harness nuclear power,” a somewhat more receptive phrase than he typically uses for that subject.

But most of his address echoed and amplified the theme that dominated the four-day Democratic nominating convention here: George Bush.

The final and revised story can be viewed here.

Barack’s amazing speech below… you decide.