President Barack Obama's speech on his plan to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) on Wednesday night began strong, but had a weak ending, said political pundit David Gergen.
"I thought the first part of the speech where he talked about the attack on ISIS was strong, presidential, serious," the former adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton said afterward on CNN.
"What surprised me was the second part of the speech when he started talking about how well the country is doing, how well we're doing with jobs, how we're leading around the world," Gergen added. "America is feeling pretty blue right now, and I think those kind of assertions don't ring true with a lot of people."
Not only did it detract from the message, Gergen said, but "When he shifted ground like that I think he called into question, well how much should we believe the rest of the speech?"
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich agreed, but said most of the speech was strong.
"It's probably the most explicitly pro-American speech he's ever made," said Gingrich, a frequent critic of the president.
Gingrich said that after 13 years of the George W. Bush and Obama strategies, "we had better find an American strategy that we collectively stick to."
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