I'm sure there are some people out there who use the argument that way. As I've normally heard it, though, it's definitely not merely an applause light.

I agree, it's not always used this way.

I can see why this can look like an applause light. In this case, though, I think that's a result of summarizing something with a lot of passion behind it in one sentence.

I think you've hit on something very important--trying to summarize something and express your passion for it at the same time can look a lot like an appluse light, especially if you aren't keeping the inferential distance in mind. Sometimes, though, the person doing the summarizing doesn't actually know the sufficient detail and evidence behind the summary, in which case the summary is pretty much always an applause light (and a mysterious answer). Related: Understanding Your Understanding.