President Barack Obama delivered an important speech Tuesday night, from the Oval Office as befitting the occasion. His address to the nation closed the door on the Iraq war, praised the U.S. forces who waged it and stated that the "central mission" of the American people, and he as president, is now to restore the health and vigor of the American economy.

Perhaps the most important line of his 18-minute speech was to remind Americans that "the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment." The predominant feeling in the country in recent years may have been that the United States is bogged down in a series of seemingly endless, insoluble problems. These include a seven-year war in Iraq, a nine-year war in Afghanistan and an economy beset by years of unemployment, loss of housing and its value and shocking government debt.

Now at least the Iraq part is on the way to going away, as Mr. Obama promised during his campaign. He pointed out that the two wars have cost the United States at least a trillion dollars and left tragic numbers of dead and severely damaged veterans.

He paid tribute to the men and women who paid the price for the partly politically motivated, unwise Iraq war, and he pledged that the country would do its best to do right by them with a GI education bill and postwar care.

Moving to the future, Mr. Obama pointed out that he would respect the schedule for completing the pullout of troops from Iraq and for beginning the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan. He said the nation should concentrate its efforts not only on jobs, but also on strengthening its education system, with the specific objective of making children employable and providing job skills. He also drew the line between economic strength at home and the country's continued ability to play a key role in world affairs.

Mr. Obama's speech was a useful bookend to former President George W. Bush's announcement from the Oval Office in 2003 of the start of the Iraq war. It was also a much needed reset to put Americans in pursuit of key future goals.

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