WASHINGTON (AFP) — Leading US news media on Wednesday praised President Barack Obama's debut speech to Congress, describing it as confident and setting a reassuring tone as he addressed a battered nation.
Obama "sounded confident -- promising the nation will rebuild and 'emerge stronger than before' -- without minimizing the grave problems that must first be surmounted," a New York Times editorial said.
Obama "climbed Capitol Hill last night and staked his presidency on bringing the nation out of its economic crisis," read a Washington Post analysis piece.
"Not since Franklin Roosevelt delivered his first fireside chat, eight days into his presidency, have Americans been more hungry -- and more desperate -- for economic leadership. And not since FDR has there been an economic agenda as bold or ambitious, or as likely to reshape American capitalism."
Obama "doesn't seem capable of bad speeches," added Post columnist Tom Shales.
"With his speech to Congress ... Obama tried to navigate shoals that have challenged other presidents serving during times of economic crisis: how to balance warnings of dire circumstances against the need to inspire confidence," read the main Los Angeles Times story.
Conservative columnist and TV commentator David Brooks, speaking on public television, described the speech as "excellent" and a presentation that "perfectly captured the tenor of the country."
Brooks went on the lambast the official Republican response to Obama's speech given by one of the party's rising stars, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
Brooks said Jindal's argument that the government should be less involved in the economy rather than more as called for in Obama's massive stimulus plan was "insane" and a "form of nihilism".
"It's just a disaster for the Republican party," he said.
The Fox News network however was critical of the president.
Obama "knows Americans are unhappy that the government could rescue people who bought mansions beyond their means.
"But his assurance Tuesday night that only the deserving will get help rang hollow," read an article on the network's website that disputed many of the president's assertions on economic growth.
Fox also pointed out a mistake: In the speech Obama refers to the United States as "the nation that invented the automobile."
German engineer Karl Benz is credited as the inventor of the internal combustion engine and, in 1885, the world's first modern automobile. Americans are seen as the country that pioneered the mass production of cars.
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