My favorite speech of all time was the Gettysburg Address until this evening. I am still numb from it. I haven't been moved so much in a long time.
"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth."
President Lincoln could have been talking about September 11th here. The truly transcendent speeches are timeless. Tonight's speech was wonderful, but the format of a SOTU somewhat ties its content to specifics, making it somewhat less powerful later on, read out of context. It was exceptionally well-delivered, however. And for a SOTU, it was pitch-perfect.