Keep Talking to Us

I saw most of the president's speech last night (the wife was pissed that it preempted Desperate Housewives), and I agree with the comments of Mary Katherine Hamm at Hugh Hewitt I (HT Mike Williams):

I didn't see it. I read it. It was a good one. I'm not usually wild about presidential speeches because presidents rarely sound like they're just talking to us (and that's what I want to hear) -- just the nature of presidential speech-writing and the fact that they're talking to millions of people at once. Bush is particularly vulnerable to this. He's great when he's just talking to folks; not so great on the soaring speeches of nobleness. Being a war President, however, usually requires the soaring speeches of nobleness.

This one read a little differently. It seemed to strike a balance between the conversational, comfortable Bush we need to assure us and the hard-as-nails, resolved Bush we need to lead a nation at war. Did someone at the White House hear the phrase "fireside chat" as much as I have in the past couple months and take heed?

And I especially like her last bit of advice: I say keep talking to us, President Bush. You're good at it.

Whenever we don't see the president for a while, it seems the news vacuum is filled by the Kennedys and Sharptons and Pelosis of the world. Stay in front of these folks Mr. President, or we are doomed for defeat.
President Bush