Paul Bedard, with the help of Josh Gotthimer, recently ranked Obama’s top five speeches ever. [Washington Whispers]

1. October 2, 2002 speech decrying the Iraq war when he was a state senator. It put him at the head of the anti-war pack and helped him crush Hillary Clinton and John Edwards on the campaign issue.

2. July 27, 2004 Democratic National Convention address calling for American unity and decried the political divisions between red states and blue states. The speech put him on the 2008 political map for the first time.

3. November 10, 2007 remarks at Iowa Jefferson-Jackson dinner that sparked his presidential bid, where he laid out his agenda and unveiled his theme, “our moment is now.”

4. January 3, 2008 Iowa caucus victory speech propelling his candidacy past Clinton and others like Joe Biden. It was similar to his convention speech and introduced the nation to his campaign theme of “choosing hope over fear.”

5. March 18, 2008 race speech in Philadelphia, “A More Perfect Union,” where he finally, and forcefully, described his roots and what it meant to him.

Should his Tucson speech have made the list?