How Did Obama Do?

Obama Frees His Mojo
by Tina Brown

The president took all the political noise—the hysterical pre-performance commentary, the shouting GOP congressman—and used it to reduce the assembled Republicans to foolish members of his rowdy class. MORE >>

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A Man On His Way to Bitterness
by Tucker Carlson

Obama the candidate seemed to rise above his opponents. The president Wednesday night was battling enemies, real and imagined. MORE >>

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A Speech Worthy of Hillary
by Paul Begala

Candidate Obama attacked Clinton for her support of a universal mandate. President Obama gave a full-throated defense of one. Will liberals follow him? MORE >>

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A Tactical Half of a Loaf
by Sam Donaldson

With flourish, President Obama threw the public option under the bus tonight. It was the choice of a practical politician. MORE >>

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Bipartisan Flavor, Progressive Spine
by Katrina vanden Heuvel

The public option part was unsatisfying. But when he got to Kennedy—and the moral imperative of health care—it was one for the history books. MORE >>

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A Dramatic Address for a Dramatic Moment
by Matthew Yglesias

Obama rose to the occasion. But history shows big speeches don’t move the needle that much. Does Congress actually want reform? MORE >>

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Obama’s Thrilling Health-Care Rebuke
by Michelle Goldberg

Democrats may have been losing the health-care debate, but with his speech Wednesday night, the president began to shift the dynamic, writes Michelle Goldberg—and his tough defense of liberalism was stunning. MORE >>

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Nothing Is Going to Change
by Lee Siegel

For all the hyperbole, the speech didn’t matter much. The battle will resume, charges will fly—and Obama and the Democrats will ram a plan through. MORE >>

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In Defense of a Strong Government
by Michael Waldman

Obama’s speech was as powerful a piece of presidential rhetoric as you will ever hear. But the Democrats’ tactical sequencing this summer was off. He’d better get moving. MORE >>

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