He had some great lines, but ICK he started by thanking the U for having him there...I hate it when entertainers say "Thank you for being such a great audience" but a political leader? Ick.

Yes, cheesy. However, did you miss the outline of the format right before that? The man has two minutes to respond and he spends upwards of twenty seconds not responding. He's not hemming and hawing organizing his thoughts, he's just so confident (or wants to appear so confident) in his position that he can burn up nearly a quarter of his time.