On the petty differences, name-calling and focus on the inconsequential:
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.
On American exceptionalism:
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned.
On the trade deficit and need to re-focus on American productivity and potential:
Our minds are no less inventive, our goods & services no less needed....our capacity remains undiminished.
On the cynicism toward government and critics of "dreaming big":
What the cynics fail to understand is that the round has shifted beneath them.
On the false dichotomy of the size of government and partisan quibbles:
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.
On the false dichotomy that we must reject our Constitution in the name of domestic safety, and that we must turn our backs of leading by example and instead lead by force:
We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.
And my favority part....a dig at American exceptionalism, or as I like to call it "American Extremism":
Power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please...our power grows through its prudent use....the justness of our cause...the force of our example...humility & restraint.
Jeffrey Toobin just said on CNN that there weren't any memorable lines from the speech. Obviously, I disagree, and I hope I'm doing my part to memorialize them here.
