Posted on 03/04/2008 4:51:59 PM PST by forkinsocket
Must a president be eloquent to be successful?
That question has sparked a heated quarrel between the campaigns of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. The senator from New York stresses "results, not rhetoric," while her rival contends that a leader has to inspire Americans in order to produce "a new majority who can lead this nation out of a long political darkness."
In politics as in poker, each candidate plays his or her strongest cards and suspects the opponent of bluffing. Yet the importance of this question shouldn't be lost amid the clamor of a hard-fought campaign. Political oratory is an ancient craft. In the nearly 2,400 years since Plato defined rhetoric as "winning the soul through discourse," effective speechmaking has been integral to the pursuit and the wielding of power. And the brief but contentious history of modern U.S. politics suggests that Obama has the better argument.
Most of the presidents who have changed the nation's course have been charismatic figures who persuaded Americans to share their larger vision. Stirring rhetoric helped them get their most cherished programs through Congress and leave their stamp on the future. Every president in the era of mass media who left office with his popularity intact and with followers eager to build on his legacy was a splendid speaker -- from Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan.
National candidates began to adopt an emotional, sermonic style in the 19th century, when evangelical Protestantism was the faith of most Americans. Journalists dissected political orations eagerly and at great length, assuming that a speech revealed the office-seeker's true character. Typically, they condemned insincerity while praising dramatic performances that seemed to come from the heart, if not the soul.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
To be successful kicking Islamic Extremist butt? No! Just needs to be direct!
God Bless GWB!
“a new majority who can lead this nation out of a long political darkness.”
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This guy is beyond dangerous. Just listen to what he says (and does not say) and you should be horrified.
But still, I can say, "lipstick on a pig"...
Bush is picked on mercilessly because he is a poor public speaker. Now all of a sudden being a poor speaker doesn’t matter.
“Lead us out of the long political darkness.” Huh? Bill and Hillary Clinton left the White House in 2001. What’s he talking about?!
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