There is a lot of commentary in this thread about the speech being self-congratulatory in nature, but I think the actual overall tone for it is much darker. The speaker is essentially congratulating all of the graduates for working extremely hard for their entire lives, and that, despite all that hard work, they and everyone else around them will continue to work extremely hard with no end in sight. This is especially true for any of the graduates that want to earn lots of money or that want to make big changes to the system. All-the-while the speaker says that everyone else - the 99% - have essentially already lost the rat-race, and lost it before they were born. The rich are stuck in a laborious 'gilded cage' of their own creation, and everyone else is struggling to pay rent.
I highly recommend you read the entire article. It presents a lot of very good points that are relevant with regard to the macro-structure of the new American economy.
I highly recommend you read the entire article. It presents a lot of very good points that are relevant with regard to the macro-structure of the new American economy.