but I thought it was pedestrian, and at times petty in its many shots at Bush. There were of course some good passages–I especially liked the bit about not apologizing for our way of life–but some real clunkers too. “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.” Good luck with that, Mr. President.
P.S. I followed my general practice of reading speeches rather than watching them, and that may color my take. I have never thought that Obama’s speeches read particularly well, but he is a very compelling performer.