The value of political speeches

I have to admit that since we have entered the Obama era, I am confused about what makes a political speech valuable and why political eloquence has become more important than anything else. Is it that it makes the person who is giving it popular and likable or that it advances a political goal other than the one to get the speaker elected? I'm confused. Does America really want to be a country where words matter more than deeds and become solely weapons designed to dismiss alarming realities? Obama's speech today was great, but what does it change? Does it make his Afghan strategy more viable than it was before ?  I think that the answer is no, but I'm wondering if one is willing to accept that Obama is neither Jesus nor the Antichrist, why his speeches would matter more than his deeds as if they were either divinely or evilly inspired and can thus either make the disabled walk or turn the patriots blind. I hate the politics of personal sublimation with as much passion as I hate the politics of personal destruction.