Daniel, I’m not sure that it’s been sufficiently appreciated how bad this is for President Obama. To blow a big speech — this speech — would be bad for any president. But Obama’s model is government-by-speechmaking. He became a national figure not on the basis of political achievements, policy insights, or other accomplishments, but on the strength of a single speech. His most enthusiastic supporters celebrated, above all, his rhetorical skill in comparison to George W. Bush.

And his speech-making has been sort of amazing: Suffering politically for the rantings of his racist pastor, Obama gave us a speech on racism. Think about that: Rather than apologize for his longtime association with a racist windbag, he lectured us on racism. That’s a pretty neat trick to be able to pull off. That takes real skill (and gall).

Obama’s eloquence failing him is like Bush’s cussedness and certitude failing him, like Clinton’s charm and uncanny ability to feign sympathy failing him. It’s like watching Fred Astaire trip over his shoelaces. If Obama can’t count on that, what can he count on? His wealth of experience in the private sector? His vast knowledge of policy arcana? All of the political capital accrued during his long tenure in the Senate?