I mentioned earlier this evening the extraordinary picture of a marked-up page of a presidential speech, showing ways in which Obama had improved the grace and cadence of various sentences.
On the other hand:
After looking more closely at the huge-scale version, I see that we now have photographic proof that the lamentable standard ending of his speeches is not some ad-libbed tic:
There's another line you could have crossed out there, Mr. President! Maybe the previous lines would have served as, you know, an "ending." They're not that bad!
I still believe that we can act when it's hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history's test. Because that's who we are. That is our calling. That is our character.
