I don't have much to say about the president's address at last night's memorial service other than the obvious: It was excellent, and you should watch it. Even as someone skeptical of these events, I was moved by Obama's optimism, hope, and appeal to our national community. Like James Fallows, I think this will stand -- along with Obama's 2004 convention speech and his March 2008 speech on race -- as some of his best work.
For a more insightful take on the speech, I really recommend reading Jonathan Bernstein (though, of course, you should be reading him anyway):
Obama or any president represents us -- makes us present even though we are not present -- because we have contended with him, because he's had to make so many promises to us about what he will do, how he will act, who he will be. Barack Obama is, as we all know, a talented speaker. The Barack Obama who gave the speech in Tucson, however, is one who has built himself through his interactions with the electorate, who has become our representative in a rich sense, not a narrow one. That's why even the worst of them, even a Jimmy Carter or a George W. Bush, are usually able to deliver when the occasion calls for it. Put a little oratorical skill into the mix, and, well, you're going to get what you heard last night in Tucson.
Seriously, read the whole thing.
-- Jamelle Bouie
