I have an idea of what he might be trying to say.
"This country as we once knew it is over. Now, we'll rebuild in this new world and make our country even better than it was before." Or something along those lines. As a closing part of a speech, it would be as you said idiotic. But as an opener, it couldn't be better. If you start out with the worst line, everything you say after that can only serve to inspire hope and motivation.
Not many can tell you how they felt at the beginning of a speech, but they can tell you how they felt at the end of it.