(Update and bumped: Spazeboy at La Resistance has posted clips on the event from the WTNH and WFSB newscasts tonight, and a WTIC clip is available here. Politics TV was also there, and there should be more video available on the web soon. The coverage I've seen so far has been quite positive.)

A quick round-up of reports on Ned Lamont's speech, which apparently did indeed "rock" Hartford this afternoon.

BranfordBoy at My Left Nutmeg spells out how:

I've never been a big fan of "Ned Rocks," the unofficial slogan of the Lamont campaign, but damn if it doesn't perfectly describe what happened at the Old State House in Hartford today.

Ned Lamont officially introduced himself to the voters of Connecticut today and did it with a casual mastery that belies his wet-behind-the-ears political status.

As he spoke, the crowd burst into applause with all the regularity of Republicans at the State of the Union, but with none of the hypocrisy. Lamont clearly spoke from the heart and the crowd responded with love.

jsmckay at Daily Kos, while at first skeptical towards Lamont, came away a true believer. The positive, expansive nature of his campaign message struck a chord:

I had great hopes but few expectations when I walked into the room for Lamont's formal announcement. To my pleasant surprise, there was a packed house of passionate progressives just itching to enter the fray. Even better, Ned Lamont seemed ready to lead the charge.

He began by wisely laying out the idea that he is not simply an antiwar candidate but a pro-Democratic candidate. Staking out the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, he laid out a progressive agenda on all the positions that most Kossacks, and most CT voters, would agree with....

There's noblese oblige in his background and he looks like Jimmy Stewart...

I'm getting on Lamont's bandwagon right away.

Finally, Neal Fink at My Left Nutmeg has the single best story of the day I've read so far:

One of Lamont's gifts, that will be a key ingredient in his recipe for victory, is a unique ability to take a strong stand on some very controversial issues without coming off as angry (imagine a much more articulate and likeable Howard Dean.) Ned’s energy and enthusiasm is contagious. Everyone in the room was at the edge of their seats, applauding and cheering enthusiastically as he laid out a clear and succinct agenda of issues....

Lest you dismiss today’s enthusiasm as the reaction of a loaded audience of Lamont supporters, let me share a bit of what I got to see and hear first hand. I was standing in the back of the room, alongside the platform for the many TV crews and photographers covering the event. Before the event started, and during the brief introductory speeches, most of these news crews seemed settled in for another dull assignment. A few minutes into Ned’s talk, even these ordinarily disinterested folks seemed to sit up and take notice of what was happing on stage and around the room.

Not only did I catch a few of the press representatives applauding during Ned’s speech, I overheard a fantastic exchange between a cameraman and one the reporters. After it was all over, one of them remarked "wow, I would vote for this guy" to which the other responded"“me too!" This is the same reaction I keep hearing and reading about as Ned appears around the state. After just a few minutes of hearing Ned speak, something clicks and people “get it.” If he can get an audience with a massive number of Connecticut Democrats, the August primary will be a Lamont Landslide.

And all Lieberman's out-of-touch campaign could do after this stunning performance was pout and lie:

Lieberman campaign manager Sean Smith said he was disappointed with the tone of Lamont's announcement.

"Attacking Senator Lieberman's character and integrity was a predictable but dishonorable way to begin this campaign," Smith said. "Mr. Lamont is clearly going to run a very negative and angry campaign where the truth doesn't get in the way."

Lamont's communications director, Liz Dupont-Diehl, disputed that characterization of the announcement.

"I don't even think he was at the same event we were at," Dupont-Diehl said. "Ned's event was full of very constructive ideas and real plans. This is the kind of thing that Karl Rove would say."