Things I think Obama should say in his speech

If I were Obama's speechwriter, I would make sure to include some variant of these themes:

* "Republican foreign policy has wrecked America's prestige around the world. I will make it a priority to restore American prestige, and secure the respect and cooperation of other nations."

* "No matter what McCain says, there is no way to drill our way to energy independence, period. In the long term, alternative energy is the only option. In the short term, cutting down on oil use is the only option."

* "I'm going to pull our troops out of Iraq with all deliberate speed. And the reason is that Iraq is no threat to us today, just like it was no threat six years ago. There's just nothing for America to gain from this war. And I'm not going to let John McCain keep us in a war that gains us nothing."

* "The Republicans have let America's infrastructure fall apart, and this has weakened us as a nation. I'm going to rebuild our roads, our bridges, and our power grids, to boost our economy and strengthen our country."

Recent polls indicate that the American public would be receptive to those messages, I think. Also, they happen to be the right ones. Also, in my humble opinion, they happen to sound kickass.