Paul Mirengoff of Powerline gets it right: It was a great speech. President Obama really seized the moment, and was able to come across as winsome and balanced (in contrast, for example, to his presser after the compromise to extend the so-called Bush tax cuts for another two years). Paul breaks down the speech into its three parts:
“It [the speech] can be divided into three parts – a tribute to the victims, a denunciation of attempts to use the incident to make partisan attacks, and a related call for more civility in politics.”
He goes on to explain how Obama was able to thread the needle in each area — something in the past he has often failed to do, his oratorical brilliance notwithstanding.
But then Paul rightly notes that this was a speech, not a conversion. Read the whole thing, including his follow-up.