You had to really listen to the speech, or read it without the delivery.
It was Bush atmospherics with Obama history-twisting, sly digs, and shameful comments.
Foro example, people heard the part about how the US has done a lot to defend Europe and missed the part where we only go to war for "enlightened self-interest."
I am glad Liz is setting the record straight.
Liz Cheney is continuing to set the record straight, this time about the health care reform bill. The public is increasingly against the proposals. She thinks the Republicans may actually be close to killing it.
Juan Williams is so wrong about ‘most Americans want a public option’, Most Americans already have health insurance, Einstein!
Conservatives praising O’s speech is what made the lefties lose their minds.
What a wonderful sight.
I only heard part of zero’s speech before I could not stand listening to him. Fortunately, John Bolton was the first one I watched who said the zero speech was horrible and sent terrible messages. I guess other conservatives listened to Bolton and ignored the initial positive reactions.
Some vignettes:
"Where force is necessary, we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct. And even as we confront a vicious adversary that abides by no rules, I believe that the United States of America must remain a standard bearer in the conduct of war. That is what makes us different from those whom we fight. That is a source of our strength. That is why I prohibited torture. That is why I ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed. And that is why I have reaffirmed America's commitment to abide by the Geneva Conventions. We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. And we honor those ideals by upholding them not just when it is easy, but when it is hard."
"So even as we respect the unique culture and traditions of different countries, America will always be a voice for those aspirations that are universal. We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran. It is telling that the leaders of these governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation. And it is the responsibility of all free people and free nations to make clear to these movements that hope and history are on their side."
"In light of the Cultural Revolution's horrors, Nixon's meeting with Mao appeared inexcusable — and yet it surely helped set China on a path where millions of its citizens have been lifted from poverty, and connected to open societies. Pope John Paul's engagement with Poland created space not just for the Catholic Church, but for labor leaders like Lech Walesa. Ronald Reagan's efforts on arms control and embrace of perestroika not only improved relations with the Soviet Union, but empowered dissidents throughout Eastern Europe. There is no simple formula here. But we must try as best we can to balance isolation and engagement, pressure and incentives, so that human rights and dignity are advanced over time."
"Most dangerously, we see it in the way that religion is used to justify the murder of innocents by those who have distorted and defiled the great religion of Islam, and who attacked my country from Afghanistan. These extremists are not the first to kill in the name of God; the cruelties of the Crusades are amply recorded. But they remind us that no Holy War can ever be a just war. "