From a Time report titled, “Obama's Spill Speech: Calling for Courage, but Showing Little.”
As a candidate, Obama repeatedly promised to tell Americans what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. That was among his most invigorating promises: a pledge to lead, to cast aside the poll-driven positioning that prevented America from solving its most persistent problems.
In the first Oval Office address of his presidency, Obama didn't do that, and he must know it. Which must be the most frustrating thing of all.