By any standards Zuma gave a good speech. His delivery (98% in his second language) and control of his subject was impressive.
I, as somebody who has had a very privileged education, cannot but be impressed at how, with very little formal education, Zuma has risen from living as a teenager with his domestic worker mother on the Ridge in Durban, to become the President of South Africa. It is not only a tribute to his own character, intelligence and determination but also proof that individuals from lowly circumstances can rise above their circumstances.
The speech demonstrated that Zuma, to use Tony Leon's words, "is comfortable in his own skin" and does not have chips on his shoulder. He certainly exercises power comfortably, with humility and a pleasant sense of humour. One could see all of that as one watched him deliver his SONA.
He set out to embrace all South Africans as his regular use of "compatriots and friends" emphasised as well as mentioning the diverse contributions from Steve Biko to Helen Suzman. He clearly wants to build the intangible values of our nation's morale and self-confidence and not just increase our prosperity.
His emphasis on growth and infrastructure is not only good economic sense but an admission of what he has learnt from China. Brazil, with their unemployment rate at around 6%, is another role model that he wishes South Africa to emulate. Zuma clearly understands that the opportunities provided by free-market capitalism in some form or other, is the only way to go.
The major force that eventually broke down apartheid job reservation, the pass laws and the coloured preference areas, was economic growth. The racist and sexist social engineering policies of the ANC will buckle, bend and break under the demands of a growing economy which Zuma is pursuing with vigour. All South African's will become more prosperous because economic growth will be hungry for all skills regardless of colour. It also will see faster urbanisation with its development opportunities and demand for houses, transport and infrastructure in our towns and cities.