Yeah, I know, I know. I too was taken in when I first heard him speak. I remember thinking when I heard that measured, steady voice with its pleasant but authoritative timbre that here was a guy fit to govern the world. He sounded cool. Clint Eastwood “Make my day” cool.

Now, though, that novelty has worn off. Now, it’s becoming clear that this carefully worked, glacial poise is all there is to Obama. He’s just a hollow man spouting empty rhetoric.

Compare and contrast the flatulent pomposity of Obama’s speech with Cheney’s angry, from-the-heart, tell-it-like-it-is riposte. No one is accusing Cheney of being the next Marc Antony but as Toby Harnden rightly says, he had some strong points to make and his audience got the message.