Harry Graver of Yale University on Obama’s rhetoric:
Instead, the President focused on perseverance–a shared struggle that our generation will endure side by side a President who is “right there with you.” And to his credit, there is a degree of brilliance to this strategy. Cloaked in empathetic anecdotes and an admirable personal story, the President has redefined his failings as virtuous opportunities. His economy is our defining struggle–yet, miraculously, he is the shepherd, not the villain.
With the economy in tatters, Obama’s message has gone from Hope and Change to Grin and Bear It in the course of four short years.