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Partisans don't change much. They can be energized to provide extra effort, or suppressed into inaction, but they rarely change sides. Obama's target is the mushy middle, and he's coopting "partisans" from BOTH sides in the effort.

It's not a new strategy - to encourage lawlessness, enmity and that overused word vitriol. If they can evoke a similar amount of hate and vitriol from the other side, that only increases the effect.

While the monkeys (and the invective) fly, it's Obama's job to stay above the fray and call for calm and rationality. It's so Presidential, ya know? It appeals to that segment of society that's really not sure what's going on, but knows there's trouble. There's chaos, dissention, loud voices and violence everywhere, and they're looking for that calm, authoritative voice of order and reason. These people are the majority of the electorate, and they're looking for leadership, unlike the "partisans" who've already made up their minds for 2012.

And that, IMHO, is what the speech was all about.