Obama Gives Artful Speech to Make His Case

This was the best speech Barack Obama has given in a year, both politically as he made his case for his economic program, and rhetorically. That, in itself, will give him some momentum in the weeks ahead.

The bottom line, as we've said before, is whether the economy begins to pull out of the slump within the next 6-9 months. The voters will give him time, but they won't give him forever -- even though there's not much even the federal government can do to radically alter world economic forces.