Posted on 08/11/2002 7:27:35 PM PDT by carmody
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:02:33 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
George W. Bush has a reputation as something of a "doofus boy" on the stump. He smirks. His eyes shift. He'll drape himself over the podium. He'll lean in the most awkward fashion. His syntax oftentimes is horrid.
He appears not to be able to speak without a prepared text, seeming always to, and sometimes furtively, hunting for his prompter at the back and corners of the room. Unfortunately, the television cameras
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Not so. I have seen him speak without a prepared text on several occasions, and he did a great job.
Those who've had the opportunity see him speak to an audience will always attest to this. I'm surprised that this reporter would admit it. Albeit, in the very last portion of his newspaper column.
I am happy with his TV speeches, although I watch the Foxnews special on Reagan last night, and Bush has a way to go to match Reagans style and delivery!
Public speeches aren't his strength because he tends to think of them as orchestrated productions. He flat out doesn't like them because they tend to be phony.
But, one-on-one, he's very, very good. No problem with the language there.
Maybe one of these days these people will look at this president and see the greatness we have been blessed with. Doofus? How idiotic they are to believe what the media tries to make them think.
I think Governor Bush largely shed his image as an inept speaker when he beat Algore in the debates. Even without the low expectations, he won. When he spoke before Congress after the terrorist attacks, he was brilliant both in person and on TV. Personally, I thought his embryonic stem cell research speech a year or so ago was very effective, (and I've never been a particular fan of his).
There's no doubt that he is stronger in person and generally weaker on TV. In that sense, he will never be able to reach the public the way that Ronald Reagan did. However, the "Gee, he's not so bad in person as he seems on TV" is a standard line for describing anyone in public life whose views are to the right of John McCain (and that's many people). The fact that President Bush has earned this slant is testimony that the left fears him.
WFTR
Bill
Headlines are supposed to get the readers attention, are'nt they? I think the bigger point of this story is that this reporter had his eyes opened and reported it. The end result being that the public who didn't have access to this event were exposed to it through the eyes of this reporter. One mans opinion can influence the opinions of others. And if he has to use the word doofus to do it that's okay with me.
One of our part-time employees was privileged to be in attendance at a speech that President Bush made last spring because he was praising a program administered through her full-time job.
I spoke with her about a week later and she was still so excited and so enthusiastic that her feet hadn't touched the ground yet! In fact, weeks later she was still almost giddy about the experience.
Some of her comments to me (paraphrased) ..... "he's an outstanding speaker" .... "you can tell that he really cares about people" ..... "it's obvious that he is sincere and loves both his Lord and his country."
This woman told me that she had not voted for him and hadn't really paid him that much attention before hearing his speech in person. Now I think she's a card-carrying Bush Babe. I didn't ask but I fully suspect that she is a registered Democrat but she now loves her President.
I really wish these people could decide on a story and stick to it; first he is too stupid to get out of bed; next, he is so crafty and cunning, he is going to take over the world; next, he is too stupid to pronounce big words; next, he is so sly, he was pulling the wool over everyone's eyes with complex business dealings; next, he is the goofy frat-boy, not ready for complex issues; now, he is the elitist, trying to make himself seem one of the guys. 22 posted on 8/11/02 3:46 PM Eastern by Paul Atreides
I suspect that we'll be seeing quite a bit of that over time.
America is moving back to the Right, primarily for three reasons.
For one reason, Americans have always rebelled anytime a trend became too extreme. If the pendulum has swung too far to the Left, then Americans instinctively pull it back to the Right, and vice-versa.
For another, the Baby-Boomers are finally starting to have grandchildren. New grandparents are statistically more Conservative than almost any other demographic, and we've got another 20 years of additional Boomers coming into future grandparenthood.
And of course there is 9/11. Our great nation has been attacked. Once again it was a sneak-attack ala Pearl Harbor, only this time it targeted civilians and civilian buildings in addition to military targets. It's hard to be a "leave them alone" liberal who doesn't want war or the death penalty when you've just watched thousands of innocent women, children, and civilians murdered by a foreign enemy.
On top of all of those factors, President Bush's strength, courage, determination, focus, ethics, compassion, and religious convictions hit home with a wide variety of Americans, regardless of their Party affiliations.
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