From the "credit where credit is due" files

Hering writes a very, very positive editorial of Obama's visit to Oregon:

The thing about Barack Obama is that he can give a speech. No doubt it is not the only quality he has, but it’s enough to justify his claim that he represents change.

Bill Clinton has the same ability. The former president can stand in front of an audience and talk and talk, and the gestures and the voice combine to make you pay attention, even if you disagree with the words. Obama has the same skills as an orator, except that his sentences are more disciplined, more grammatical and in a sense more dramatic.

...

The contrast is glaring when Obama’s rhetorical style is compared to that of President Bush. People who have time with the president in private insist that he’s very good in a conversation, smart, quick and sometimes funny. But little of that comes through when he speaks off the cuff in public, when he often sounds as though he’s giving a high school recital and afraid any second of making a mistake.

Holy crap. He praises two Democrats - including Bill Clinton - and criticizes Bush? In the same editorial?

I can't say I saw this coming.

Good on you, Hering. I'm glad to see that there's some semblance of reality that you find recognizable.