A good performance

I felt that Gordon Brown's performance in front of both houses in Washington was a good effort.Perhaps a little too heavy on the historical facts but he caught the mood well.

In particular his Rwandan story of the boy called David pulled together his themes of looking forward and countries working together.

That seems to be the thoughts of many commentators

His speech wasn’t up there with Blair’s 2003 effort, but his knowledge of American politics enabled him to hit most of the right notes and, at the risk of being guilty of the soft bigotry of low expectations, Brown’s delivery was better than usual.

says James Forsyth

I would give it a B+ for delivery and a B- for content. His love for the American experience - and the sheer excitement of the event - seemed to infuse his speaking style which had more personal warmth than his usual hectoring drone. says Janet Daley

Nick Robinson describes it as

a speech which began with flattery and gratitude but ended with a challenge. It was delivered with passion and received with warmth. There were no fewer than 19 standing ovations.