It was an amazing speech . . .

but I wish Obama had mentioned "soil" in relation to producing food, and not only in linking it to biofuels. What he said was, "We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

I was, however, taken by the quote from Thomas Paine (emphasis mine), which Obama said George Washington ordered read to his troops beside that icy river, when the outcome of the Revolutionary War was uncertain:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

I hope that Obama's agenda will draw the city and the country together for our common good, recognizing that these places are interdependent on one another and that both are worthy of our investment and attention.