The “Do Over” for the State of the Union speech

Former Clinton speechwriter David Kusnet really liked Bush’s speech last night (from the New Republic):

When it comes to making his case for another term, last night's speech was Dubya's do-over--and this time he got it right. Where his State of the Union speech had been partisan and pedestrian, devoid of what his father called "the vision thing," his new stump speech is both presidential and political; it makes the case for the Bush presidency--and against John Kerry and John Edwards--in forward-thinking, rather than defensive, terms.

There’s something else about the Bush’s speech: he was self-assured and relaxed. In every way, he gave the appearance of a confident leader. He joked, he jabbed, he jelled. Bush played to one of his great assets: people really like him as a person. Now that the Democratic attacks are no longer going unanswered, I predict Bush will see a rebound in his poll numbers.