Andrew McCarthy breathes fire about Obama’s speech
Bookworm on Jun 05 2009 at 8:51 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized
Many, even on the Right (this, for example), are applauding Obama for striking the correct tone with his Cairo/Muslim audience. I agree that one cannot simultaneously insult people and then expect them to listen, so it was appropriate for Obama to put a positive spin on as many things as possible. Nevertheless, as Andrew McCarthy points out, Obama went beyond softening his message and into the realm of outright lies, all of which served as a springboard for pushing his usual Leftist agenda.
As you know from my own rundown of the speech, Obama said some things that needed to be said and said them well (something I acknowledged). I agree with McCarthy, however, that the speech was tendentious and dishonest, and I agree also with those pundits who noted that it was an exceptionally self-involved bit of oratory.
Lastly, speaking of oratory, I have to say that it was boring. Compared to McCain, Obama’s a good speaker. Compared to real orators (Churchill, Roosevelt, Kennedy, King, Reagan), he’s pompous, self-referential, and dull.
Which leads me to a question: Are there any great orators living today? By that I mean, are there any men and women whose speeches are a pleasure to listen to for any audience except for the true haters (who could never derive pleasure from the speech)?
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5 Responses to “Andrew McCarthy breathes fire about Obama’s speech”
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I don’t know yet if he is “great”, but one of the most impassioned and moving speakers I’ve heard lately is Marco Rubio, who is running for the US Senate seat in Florida against Charlie Crist. This young man impresses me very much.
http://marcorubio.com/
“Lastly, speaking of oratory, I have to say that it was boring.”
I so agree. I have stopped watching or listening to Obama speak as, it seems to me anyway, he has a few “tried-and-true” techniques.
Gestures such as the short cutting or chopping motion with his left or right hand slightly in front of him to make a point and the ever annoying tilting of the head up and to the side raising his chin. These gestures seem to be learned and don’t come across as the “real thing.” I don’t hear any real sincerity.
To answer your question – I don’t know if I would call him a “great orator,” But I always thought Tony Blair was a pretty good speaker (or maybe that’s just because I agreed with his views).
I read in the comments on another blog that watching Obama give a speech is like watching someone watch a tennis match.
He’s still a con man and a B.S. artist. Always has been and that’s how he gets along. Lots of people bought into this and look at where we are.
Oratory…what’s odd is that there’s probably never been an era in which so many people *need* to be good orators…yet, few are even minimally competent at this skill.
The standard business PowerPoint presentation, in which the presenter is attempting to persuade somebod to do something, is after all a form of oratory. So is the college lecture. But few business presenters, and even fewer college professors, have seriously worked to develop high-order abilities in this communications medium.