As Andy Burnham waited to enter the hall for the moment he has dreamed about for at least 16 years, he told us he was feeling “good… ready”.
How could he not feel good?
In the course of a whirlwind four weeks, every wing of the parliamentary Labour Party has anointed him as the only person able to reverse their electoral predicament.
Ready?
That’s where even some of his strongest supporters are little less sure.
And ready for what?
For leadership of the Labour Party and the country, of course.
But this was a speech where Burnham set his ambitions far higher than the conventional measure of political success: elections.
Understandably, given this was a Labour Party event, he spoke about his desire to change the culture of the Labour Party.
More than that, though he vowed to banish factionalism from the party for good.
There are plenty of people from different Labour factions who bear the scars of failed attempts to do that, as well as others who see it as an undesirable goal: not so much unity of purpose, they argue, but unity over purpose.
And Burnham’s bold ambitions extend to the prime ministership too.