for the conspiracy theorists among you, these tripartite points could be seen to symbolize the shape of a triangle, capped by the all seeing eye of Obama and the impending end of the word, as foretold on the back of your dollar bills.

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If only he had given props to the gays.

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Which is to say, he said what needed to be said.

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"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works."

"A new era of responsibility" is definitely going to be a frequent call-back to this speech, but not because it's an incredible phrase (it isn't). It's because it harkens back to Clinton's "the era of big government is over." Post-election, Obama's been all about reclaiming big government under the umbrella of responsible governance.

Anyway. I think Jon Favreau is a really overrated speechwriter. The best part of the speeches always come from Obama himself -- his cadences and delivery (and when Obama writes his own speech, it is usually very good). I don't think this was one of Obama's best -- it was just competent and exceptionally delivered.

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So his message was blunt: ha ha awesome happy sticks. now let's get to work. I am not doing all the work myself, bitches.

Also, this speech damned near was ghost written by PoundCake Cosby, circa 2000.

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He immediately told the audience what to expect out of his speech.

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