(James O'Malley, Creative Commons)

Compared to his State of the Union speech a year ago, President Obama seemed almost humble, polite, somewhat bipartisan and he in stealth fashion switched some of his positions nearly 180 degrees. He should also be congratulated on not insulting the visiting members of the Supreme Court. But that's a pretty low bar all the way around when you consider it. And honestly, what else could he do?

What you saw was a presidential mea culpa, at least as strong of one as you will get from the current administration, and that wasn't all bad.

His best moment came early on: "What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow."

The devil will be in the details on most of what the president had to say tonight, but there is no denying the need for Americans to work together. What many may feel however is that we will need to work against the inclination to spend more.

His most hypocritical: "Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans’ paychecks are a little bigger today."

These were tax cuts he opposed up until the very final moment when it became clear he had no real choice but to pass, largely because of an informed electorate. But the truth was he had desired to eliminate those cuts since his days on the campaign trail. His most sincere: "The world has changed."

As was evidenced in large measure by the weakened tone and voice of the chief executive.

His most patriotic: "What’s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea – the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny."

President Obama has struggled in past speeches with the ability to pronounce overtly patriotic rhetoric, but this line, one of the best of the speech genuinely summarizes the goals of the founders and would have resonated with the likes of past Presidents Reagan, Kennedy. Even Bush.

His most honest: "We need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government."

At least he's now on the record. He realizes the deficit is voters' number one anxiety and he will bear great responsibility if he fails to act.

His most ridiculous: "This is our generation’s Sputnik moment."

This analogy was bad from the start. "Sputnik" was the failed first effort of the Soviets. Americans should not, and will not want a 'Sputnik moment'."

Read it all here.