Obama's Berlin Speech was a disappointment...when viewed on a historic timeline.

Barack Obama gave what is, for him, a fairly routine speech today in Berlin. (For McCain, it would have been a triumph, a speech beyond his capacity to give.) Obama hit all the important rhetorical points, stayed on message, said some inspiring things, had a great crowd, and kept the media attention on himself in a positive way. Already, though, I'm reading some negative coverage of his speech, some people are calling it a disappointment. I guess they were expecting him to outdo both Kennedy and Reagan.

People seem to forget that this guy isn't even the President yet. He's not even officially a nominee for President yet. He is not capable yet of making the kind of speech that people seem to expect every time out, not because he lacks the talent but because he lacks the historical circumstance and gravitas of, say, the end of communism and the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

So it's fine to say that Obama didn't bring his A Game - The time for the A Game has not yet arrived. I would be worried, very worried in fact, if Obama had given some sort of transcendent speech in Berlin, because then where would he go? He can't peak, it's July, and the people he's speaking to won't even get the chance to vote for him come November. So let's all just chill out and enjoy what we have -- A candidate for President who, even on a so-so day, gives a hell of a speech.