"By far, the best speech that President Obama has ever given"

[Politics_Guy25]

I actually agree. He had me in tears. Tonight's address was better than his inaugural address imo. It was magnificient.

Here's who says it was better:

Norman J. Ornstein, Resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute:
This was a magnificent speech-- by far the best Obama has given as president. From the beginning-- when he focused on the things that appeal to all those Americans with insurance, like ending pre-existing conditions and denial of benefits-- through the middle, when he skillfully wove together ideas from both sides, and forcefully put down the lies and distortions that have helped to drive the debate over the past months, to the final segment, a stirring call to arms-- Obama made a case for serious reform, energized his own party, and put a new challenge on the table for Republicans. More...

Link:

http://www.politico.com/arena

[rockymountaindem]

1. Ouch

Makes me wonder what I'm missing.

[BlooInBloo]

2. Not sure if I'd go that far, but it was pretty damn awesome. Links are nice too, btw.

[Jennicut]

3. He ended the speech on an emotional note and that was what really made it brilliant.

Now, the hard work comes with getting an actual bill.

[Clio the Leo]

4. Nothing tops 2004.....

.... but you simply cannot beat your first time. ;)

[TheDonkey]

26. Lol. true dat

Even though I think his Denver Speech was the all-time best. I watched that one like 10 times lol.

[Honeycombe8]

5. I wouldn't go that far. The speech he gave in 2004 was pretty good. The Inaugural Address...

historical. This one was very good. Maybe great. But I wouldn't say his best. Then again, they are all different in their purposes, so they can't really be compared.

[avaistheone1]

14. I think this beats the inaugural address.

The inaugural address just didn't do it for me. It may have been historic but it was not one of Obama's better speeches. Just an opinion.

[liquid diamond]

20. I agree. The democratic nomination speech was my favorite, but that my

opinion.

[avaistheone1]

21. Yes, that is one of my top favorites too.

Lots of people were saying after that speech he sounded like a future president.

lo and behold!

[Mojambo]

6. As President, probably.

He's had at least a handful better previously though.

[Better Believe It]

7. I agree. Now we need a strong follow-up with a strong public option in the final bill.

The one that the Congressional Progressive Caucus has been campaigning for.

[quiet.american]

8. Well, I'll be.. such praise from ***AEI***?!... thanks for posting. nt

[Laelth]

9. I was not pleased. Excellent oratory can not make up for bad policy. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[cilla4progress]

12. What didn't you like?

[Abe66]

13. I'm guessing that Laelth didn't like having to listen to PRESIDENT Obama. Would I be right?

;-)

[Laelth]

18. I enjoy listening to him.

As I said above, he's an excellent orator. He's a heck of a lot better than Bush, in every respect.

But I was disappointed by the content of the President's speech. I think he's sticking his neck out for a very bad plan that will hurt us more than it helps.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Abe66]

19. "He's a heck of a lot better than Bush" - that's a heartfelt tribute Laelth, thank you.

[Laelth]

17. Thanks for asking.

I have a thread in GD called "Thoughts on the President's Health Care Speech" in which I explain more fully.

:dem:

-Laelth

[avaistheone1]

15. I know I am beginning to come down. The co-ops and the exchanges are not the public option.

So I think what we are being offered is crumbs.

I think Obama's oratory was excellent, but what he is offering isn't even crumbs.

[joeycola]

29. Yes, the oratory was great=was great. Yet the crumbs he offered

regarding the public option was crumbs indeed.

[Cha]

16. Well, that means it was

Perfect then.

[ShortnFiery]

23. Bingo! It was a Rorschach test - You will see/believe what you WISH.

I was disappointed. Beautiful oratory but without a robust Public Option (we won't get!) it's just a big wet kiss to the Insurance Companies and will continue to GUT the Middle Class.

[Laelth]

25. That was my take.

It was nice to see the President slap down the Republicans, who most assuredly deserved it, but the policy proposals he advocated are, imho, worse than doing nothing at this point.

The individual mandate will really hurt the Democratic Party. It will be deeply resented by millions of Americans, and it will drive away a lot of voters.

:dem:

-Laelth

[liberalpragmatist]

27. The proposals he's backing are far from perfect...

... but they still do an awful lot of good. They would cover 30 million of the currently uninsured. They would end insurance company abuses like rescission and pre-existing conditions exclusions.

No, it's not what ultimately needs to be done in the long-term; it's an interim step. But how is that a bad thing?

[Laelth]

28. You don't think the individual mandate will hurt the Democratic Party?

Besides which, I don't think we need further regulation of the insurance industry. Just set up a big, publicly financed and backed, public option that does not practice pre-existing condition exclusions, rescission, or lifetime caps. The insurance companies will either 1) reform their own practices voluntarily to keep their customers, or 2) go out of business because most people will switch to the superior public option.

We don't need the health insurance industry's agreement or participation at all.

Nor do we need the individual mandate. This plan does not need to be (nor should it be) revenue neutral. We passed Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy, and nobody cared. We invaded Iraq and wrote a blank check to cover the costs, and nobody cared. We wrote a blank check to AIG and the banks through TARP, and nobody cared--not much, anyway.

Now that a Democrat wants to do something good for the American people--now, all of a sudden, we're concerned about the deficit? imho, if we have enough money to kill Iraqis, we have enough money to provide health care to all Americans. And I don't care what the irrelevant Republicans think. Nor do I have any interest in balancing the budget or tackling the national debt during a recession. Now is the time for the government to spend money, not collect it.

I simply think there are better ways to accomplish the President's goals. I fear he is sticking his neck out for a very bad plan, and it will come back to bite him (and us) down the road.

:dem:

-Laelth

[StevieM]

10. I definitely think it was his best speech ever. To me the best way of comparing different speeches

is to ask how deeply it resonated with those who have not constituted his base. People like me, who voted for Hillary and don't regret our votes. A lot of the speeches that were so moving to some, might not have connected as much with others.

President Obama has never before connected with me as much as he did tonight. I was very proud of him.

Steve

[Colobo]

11. It was truly excellent.

[BeyondGeography]

22. Look what Lanny Davis said

Probably the best speech Barack Obama has ever made - and one of the best any president has ever made in my experience.

[ShortnFiery]

24. OMG! We're citing a stooge from AEI ?!? eom

[bigwillq]

30. As always, tone and delievery was great

Content was fair, as far as the policy, imo. Still in love with Big Pharma and the insurance industry.
But Obama nailed it when he called out McCain, Hatch and Grassley. He was very strong in saying how the games need to stop. He was very strong by refuting some of the right-wing's claims (i.e. death panels).