NICE JOB. The inaugural was OK, which for Bush is a success. This, on the other hand, was actually good, making it Bush’s best speech ever, I think. He seems much more comfortable and relaxed, probably because of the Iraqi elections going so well. I think we’re just figuring out just how much the Administration’s plans turned on that. He bet on the Iraqi people, and he won.

UPDATE: Matt Barr emails: “September 20, 2001 is a pretty high hurdle.”

Yeah, but in a way this was just the second half of that speech.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Krauthammer calls it “pedestrian.” Taegan Goddard, though, observes: “It was very powerful stuff, no matter how scripted,” but adds, “I do wonder what some of Bush’s base thinks about the kiss he gave Sen. Joseph Lieberman as he made his way out the House chamber, however.” Hmm. I must’ve missed that part . . . .

And Brendan Loy says the quote of the night came from Andrew Sullivan, on CNN. (But there’s a pretty good one here: It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!)

MORE: Here’s a transcript of the speech as delivered.

Mickey Kaus: “Not exciting, but highly effective. Or, rather, highly effective because it wasn’t exciting.” He likes the Social Security treatment, too.

David Adesnik: “Don’t the Democrats have something better to offer than telling us the Indians and Chinese are going to steal our jobs?”

The Diplomad: “It’s quite an experience sitting in front of a large screen TV in a foreign land surrounded by foreigners — many of them not friendlies — listening to the President of United States speak.”

Jeff Goldstein offers a summary of the Democratic response that is similar to Andrew Sullivan’s. But very nuanced.

MORE STILL: Pelosi is busted not only on style, but on substance: Luckily for the Dems, nobody was watching by then.

Meanwhile, Pejman Yousefzadeh writes: “This speech was infinitely better than the State of the Union address President Bush delivered one year ago.” He didn’t like the gay marriage stuff, though.