The XX Factor : speech

Obama's Historic Speech in Cairo

Meghan O'Rourke — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:43:00 GMT

So Barack Obama's historic speech in Cairo is already getting rave review s . It was, indeed, vintage Obama (if that's not an oxymoron), using his biography as a point of entrance and connection, eschewing what he views as old, false dichotomies, and...(read more)

Don't You Know It's Getting Better

Eve Fairbanks — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:55:00 GMT

Emily Y , with a couple of days to let Obama's first annual address to Congress sink in, I totally agree with you re: its uncomfortable expansiveness. He exuded a wonderful self-possession, an almost amazing glow and confidence—amazing given the uneven...(read more)

Masterful and Worrisome

Emily Yoffe — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:13:00 GMT

I agree with the consensus that Obama was at his best last night. Even in these terrible times, it is a pleasure to watch him at work. One feels grateful for his intelligence, his confidence, his quick mastery of policy, his charm. And yet, when he mentioned...(read more)

Down to Earth

Emily Yoffe — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:07:00 GMT

He kept it down to earth tonight, which was the plan and a good idea—too much making people swoon would prove John McCain's charge that what Obama really is is a celebrity. And Obama nicely turned away the celebrity dig with a description of how he came...(read more)

"I Have a Plan"

Dahlia Lithwick — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:23:00 GMT

On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, Barack Obama answered back tonight with a simple, “I Have a Plan.” He’s distilled the trademark soaring rhetoric and big ideas into a handful of crisp one-liners: “ The change...(read more)