For Bush speeches, this one was topped only by the September 20th Address to Congress.
Agreed. I think this easily the best speech of his life... only his September 14, 2001 speech exceeds it in grace and power. Its a hard Wilsonian type of speech - note the absence of any reference the UN, to "Old Europe" - and none of that nonsense "new tone" that marked Bush's first term. This address is about who George W. Bush is and in what he believes. The President is a zealous evangelist for two things: freedom and individual opportunity, summed up pithly in the phrase "ownership society." This President is not given to careless pronouncements or superfluous additions of words. Bush is direct and to the point. After you've read it, you come to the understanding Bush is a man of vision who is unafraid to achieve a big goal - and he clearly understands what American exceptionalism is all about. There are echoes of Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt and Kennedy in the speech. But there is also no mistaking his address is above all, a commitment to an America in the service of timeless conservative goals. This address my friends, is 100% pure, unadulterated conservatism.