Oral Exam

NEWSWEEK contributor Michael Gerson helped craft some of President George W. Bush's most memorable speeches. Michael Waldman, executive director of the Brennan Center for Justice, did the same for President Bill Clinton. Throughout this week, the two former presidential penmen will preview the big speeches at the Democratic convention in Denver, and analyze what worked—and what didn't—after the fact. Here, our writers weigh in on Barack Obama's speech:

MICHAEL GERSON

It was an important historical moment ... a moment that helped heal some of our nation's deepest and oldest wounds, a moment for all Americans to be proud of the great but still partial progress of our country. But it was not a historic speech. It was, in fact, very much as advertised: "workmanlike." The setting invited comparisons to JFK. The anniversary invited comparisons to Martin Luther King, Jr. The stage invited comparisons to Zeus. But Obama delivered a political stump speech. Not a bad speech, just a small one—designed for focus groups, not for history. Not ineffective, just unmemorable.

Obama argued it was "not a time for small plans"—then talked about toy safety and "the next generation of biofuels." His applause lines were generally weak and uncreative—"We are a better country than this," "Enough!", help people "afford a college education." The speech was lacking in effective humor and wit. "Eight is enough"? A reference to a 1970s sitcom?

But the speech was smart in its own way. It asserted generally popular Democratic themes—almost indistinguishable from any of Bill Clinton's convention speeches or States of the Union—in a year when typical Democratic themes may be enough for victory.

Yet something was lost tonight. The speech had little to do with the freshness or promise of Obama's initial themes running in Iowa—the themes that raised the hopes of many that he might be a different kind of politician entirely. That Obama of hope and unity now seems (as Bill Clinton once said) like a fairy tale.

Obama delivered a deeply partisan speech. It was even, on occasion, snide and small. "I've got news for you John McCain," Obama exclaimed, "We all put our country first." It was a moment of touchy defensiveness that bordered on nastiness. And there were others. Is John McCain actually responsible for a tripling of American oil imports during his Senate career? Is he really at fault for not entering bin Laden's cave himself? These were cheap shots. In a better, nobler speech, similar points might have been made with humor and a lighter touch.

On the anniversary of "I Have a Dream"—America's preeminent speech about unity—Obama chose to emphasize division. It may have been politically smart. But it was very much politics as usual.

MICHAEL WALDMAN

First, the scene at the Invesco Stadium: remarkable. I watched much of the speech again on TV, and in this instance, I don't think the small screen does justice to the spectacle. It didn't feel stagey or like a rock festival or the Nuremberg rally. People did the wave, chanted "U.S.A., U.S.A." and heard country music. The stage, I should mention, did look absurd. Clearly designed to resemble the portico of the White House. It must have been designed by the best set designer in Denver (the one who didn't get the contract to do Caesar's Palace). On TV, it looked like he was giving his speech in a Benihana.