The president's first press conference was an eye-opener, a boffo performance.

That doesn't mean there's no room for disagreement with his stances on the economy, Iran or any of the substantive issues he encountered in last night's hour-long primetime event.

It's that he handled each question confidently and in-depth. He offered long, thoughtful, nuanced answers. He displayed an understanding of complicated matters and proved he can discuss them at length without gaffes.

It's been a while since we witnessed such a presidential conference. About eight years, in fact.