In the speech, Roosevelt pledged to continue the New Deal and criticized those who, in his view, were putting personal gain and politics over national economic recovery from the Great Depression.
Perhaps the most memorable line of the speech came when Roosevelt described forces which he labeled "the old enemies of peace: business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering."
[4] While some contemporary forecasts of the election predicted a much closer contest,[5] most opinion polls pointed to victories in the popular vote and the Electoral College for Roosevelt.
[3] The speech has been called by some historical observers a moment when Roosevelt "abandoned the characteristic balance of his addresses and focused his feelings in a stinging attack.
"[2] Political analysts have compared the straightforwardness of Roosevelt's rhetoric, such as the "I welcome their hatred" comment, with the relative timidity of later politicians,[7] such as Barack Obama; psychologist Drew Westen made such an argument in The New York Times.