State of the Union
I watched the state of the Union address yesterday by President Bush. I almost always watch it every time just for the pomp and glamour associated with it. Even though I didn’t care very much for the content of the speech, one thing that always amazes me is the eloquence of the president. Most people always make a big joke on President Bush regarding his IQ, Intelligence etc… Letterman, Leno and all other comedians have a ball whenever Bush makes a faux-pas. I do admit he is not good during those impromptu meetings and interviews. But he is very good in a well rehearsed situation.
I understand that as a president he should be capable of doing this.No matter who you are, I think it’s not easy to give such an eloquent speech for 1 hour garnering everybody’s attention.
What do you think?
9 comments:
I watched it also.. Any idea if he memorized his speech or if there were displays on the floor? If he spoke without assistance, he did a very good job as a speaker (considering the no of dems on the house).
He is definitely knowledgeable and has to be as he is the president of this country. I agree with you he is very good in well rehearsed situations but if often made fun of.. I guess in this country they need to make fun of the president somehow.
Those jokes are funny though.. On Saturday night live news, Tina fey read: Israeli president handed over a 250 page terrorism report to president bush last week and ... President bush has just finished coloring it!
I am pretty sure he memorized it even though he had the text of the speech in from of him for reference. I don't think there were any displays in front of him.
I searched the internet and most of the websites mention there is a "teleprompter" in front of the president, which is more like a one-way mirror..
Even if there is a tele-prompter /cheat sheet etc.. or even if some body reads the text in his hidden earpiece and he repeats it(ha!ha!ha!), I guess the delivery of speech is very important in public speaking. He does a good job in that.
I feel the same way. A good speaker delivers clearly. He did a good job.
Politics is a topic I am passionate about because after all we live by the laws politicians make and in a democracy, this great nation of ours is “of the people, by the people and for the people”.
So here is a long post – and please forgive my rant if you find it so..
Some facts only political junkies like me probably know -
Every president's state of the union and other formal speeches are written WORD FOR WORD by a team of speech writers. The president reviews the content with his advisors and just “signs off” on it prior to the event.
The job of chief speech writer is a full time one and Bush’s chief speech writer until recently was a guy called Michael Gerson. He was very good. The current speech writer is William McGurn, former editorial board writer of the Wall Street journal.
Also, yes there are tele-prompters – Basically well disguised TVs with LARGE words placed strategically on left and right sides facing the president so that it appears as though the president looks to the right and left at people, not reading from a tele-promoter, which is all he does! Trust me guys and girls, they got this down to a perfect science a long time ago.
Another tidbit - Bush almost NEVER deviates from the script on the screen. Clinton sometimes used to. If you want to know how Bush really speaks and whether he deserves the bad reputation he has on speaking, see one of his many impromptu "Bushism" speech videos on Youtube and decide for yourself.
If you want to see an exceptionally good speaker by a leader of a country, watch Tony Blair. I thought his speech soon after the 911 attacks in Sept of 2001 was one of the best by any leader in recent memory. And the British parliamentarians are also very good – because they have to respond to politicians from the other side in REAL TIME.
The US Senate has something similar, but most of the senate speeches are also written by their staff. And when senators have a need to respond in real time, they usually sound stupid and ridiculous things.
Consider this speech ot the floor of the US Senate last year -
“…the internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes… those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.” –that was by the Senior senator from Alaska, Ted Stevens who was the CHAIRMAN of the committee REGULATING THE INTERNET until last year when the Republicans were in the majority! I pity the people of Alaska for the quality of representation they are getting the US Senate!!!
There are MANY other such examples, and let us not even get started with the US House of Representatives!
The Brits know how to use language well to make powerful points! But there are also many eloquent US politicians. I like Bill Clinton’s speeches a lot, Guiliani has a direct but powerful delivery style. And actually Newt Gingrich is one of the best speakers too – he was a college professor. An important point I want to make with this is that you don’t have to agree with someone’s politics to appreciate their speaking skills.
I’ll try to find the two speeches (Blair and Bush after 9-11) on the Internet and send you the links.
Sk
Your comment is truly enlightening. Thanks. I'll check out the 'Youtube'.
Check this one out -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLeKEx1rNmo
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful. So are we. They never stop thinking of new ways to hurt our country and our poeople, AND NEITHER DO WE!"
There are many, many more. In fact there is actually a book called "Bushisms". Jut funny, funny stuff :-)
Very interesting comments.. The last quote is really funny..
I liked the speech by Barack Obama during the democratic national convention..
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