Excellent commentary by Dickerson. His summary epitomizes the brilliance of the address.

It was a riveting address. It was not as electrifying as the 2004 speech, but it had a good blend of rhetoric and substance. I wish there were less of the theatricals, fireworks, etc., which tended to irritate a bit. It looked ego-centric.

Obama hit Bush-McCain cleverly, masterfully. Being a Hillary supporter, I was somewhat sceptical before the speech. But I am slowly being converted.

The only criticism I have is that he failed to point out that we as a nation are broke. Obama finally acknowledged that Clinton Presidency was an economic success. Obama said that he will pay for his programs by cutting un-necessary expenses and the savings accruing from the Iraqi surplus of 89 Billion. This ia a weak argument considering that our national debt is nine Trillion and the budget deficit is 500 Billion. McCain also says that he will cut pork barrel spending. But Obama said loud and clear that he will cut taxes of 95% of the American people. Still I am not sure if he can deliver.

The speech was a moment when adjectives fail. It was an experience one will never forget. History in the making and we are all part of it, whether we vote for Obama or not!

He also stated he would close corporate loopholes in the tax code, and ask the wealthy to pay more... So paying for his programs is not nearly as off-the-mark as you suggest.

In the end, it won't happen overnight.

When Clinton came in, he had inherited a 300 million dollar deficit. It took him 5 years to balance that.

Obama will inherit nearly double that deficit. If he balances the budget within two terms it will be a miracle. All we should ask is that every year the budget deficit be clearly less than the year before and that there is a clear path towards solvency. If you demand the deficit go away in a year you are sure to be let down... The problem is simply too big for that.

As for the speach, we agree... This was one of the greatest speaches in history.