Helter Skelter in Cleveland

In a burst of enthusiasm, Arianna Huffington said "[it] was definitely the best speech we've gotten from him since he's been in the White House." On the other hand, David Broder, a reliable Washington weathervane, noted "the turn to the right that will mark his tenure." People hear what they want to hear. But why Cleveland?

News reports chalked it up to a dig at putative House Speaker John Boehner (R, Ohio), who in late August used the venue of the City Club of Cleveland to call on Mr. Obama to fire his economic team. Nobody in the media, however, seems to have noticed that Cleveland also happens to be the headquarters of Mr. Obama's church. As such, it's not only home turf but a main cog in his political machine, one that had already played an essential role in defining candidate Obama. If in 2007 he had not garnered a seal of approval and influential intellectual support from one of the oldest mainline denominations in America, arguably he could never have won the caucuses, or the primaries, or the nomination, let alone the general election.