This article is part of , TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. Whoever wrote Biden’s speech gets an A. It was essentially a laundry list of progressive ideas — but it didn’t feel like a laundry list because it included lots of morally uplifting transitions and personal connections, despite a handful of clichés about “America can do anything if we work together.” The President delivered it with passion and without verbal slip-ups. He made the most of the occasion. A CNN poll found that 71% of viewers said that the speech made them feel more optimistic about the country’s direction.