Delivered.

Intitial first reactions:

• I was surprised at how he captured the audience at the end.  You could hear a pin drop in those last paragraphs.
• I loved the smack down on the Senate:

I know it’s an election year. And after last week, it is clear that campaign fever has come even earlier than usual. But we still need to govern. To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that sixty votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it’s not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions. So let’s show the American people that we can do it together. This week, I’ll be addressing a meeting of the House Republicans. And I would like to begin monthly meetings with both the Democratic and Republican leadership. I know you can’t wait.

• I loved how he gave credit to the House for passing so many bills. It subtly highlighted how the Senate is responsible for so much gridlock
• I would have liked a more detailed explanation of what is in the health care bill. It seemed like a great opportunity to clear up some confusion.
• I was surprised when the Republicans didn’t stand for a lot of things in this speach. Reducing deficits? Tax cuts? Enforcing immigration laws? Really? You don’t like that?

I’d call it a success.

Now go check out Nate Silver’s list of House Democrats at risk of voting no on the Senate version of the health care bill. If you see your Representative, make a phone call.

Reading liberal blogs these days is a lot like reading advice columns:  Obama shouldn’t have done that.  Obama should do this. I can’t believe Obama did that!  FIGHT, BARACK, FIGHT!!

One thing that I’ve learned about Barack Obama, though, is that he never punches when you want him to.  He sits back, takes punches, amasses criticism, and right when you can’t take it any longer, right at that exact moment when you feel like the whole world is coming down around him…POW!!  He smokes you right in the jaw.

Remember Hillary Clinton?  Jeremiah Wright?  John McCain?  Those health care town hall meetings?

Yeah.

It’s the rope-a-dope writ large.  Let your opponent creep on in, take up all the oxygen, and then right when they think they got you, you hit back and you hit hard.

Bottom line?  Hold your judgment until after the SOTU.  We’ll see where we stand then.