We've been waiting eagerly to hear what Obama would have to say during his speech today at Massachusetts Institute of Technology before 750 faculty members. The result was bittersweet--a lot of rah-rah optimism about progress on climate change on the one hand, but enough hedging on the other that it gives us little reason to believe that the Senate climate bill will pass before Copenhagen--and possibly even in the months thereafter. Below are some highlights, but also check out the full speech.

The optimism:

"The nation that wins this competition [to develop clean-energy solutions] will be the nation that leads the global economy."

and

"The Pentagon has declared our dependence on fossil fuels a security threat. Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are traveling the country as part of Operation Free, campaigning to end our dependence on oil -- (applause) -- we have a few of these folks here today, right there. (Applause.) The young people of this country -- that I've met all across America -- they understand that this is the challenge of their generation.

"Leaders in the business community are standing with leaders in the environmental community to protect the economy and the planet we leave for our children. The House of Representatives has already passed historic legislation, due in large part to the efforts of Massachusetts' own Ed Markey, he deserves a big round of applause. (Applause.) We're now seeing prominent Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham joining forces with long-time leaders John Kerry on this issue, to swiftly pass a bill through the Senate as well...So we are seeing a convergence. The naysayers, the folks who would pretend that this is not an issue, they are being marginalized."

The hedge:

"But I think it's important to understand that the closer we get, the harder the opposition will fight and the more we'll hear from those whose interest or ideology run counter to the much needed action that we're engaged in."

The reality check:

This WSJ article from today indicates that even January may be too soon to expect much in the way of legislative progress on climate change: "The president's aides had once hoped the Senate would pass a climate change bill before the United Nations' climate change summit in Copenhagen in mid-December. But now, early next year is the soonest final legislation is expected to reach the Senate floor....Aides to the president have downplayed the delay, saying it is just as good to have something in January as in December, but few in Congress think January will bring final passage of a bill."

Ouch. All the more reason for us to rally for change at the grassroots. Check out the events happening in your area at tomorrow's international day of climate action at 350.org.