Posted on 09/03/2009 11:39:07 AM PDT by nickcarraway
"Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory . . . Abandoned by his party, betrayed by his friends, stripped of his offices, whoever can command this power is still formidable." - Winston S. Churchill
"(I) won a nickname, 'The Great Communicator.' But I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: It was the content. I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things." – Ronald Reagan
"Don't tell me words don't matter! 'I have a dream'-- just words? 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal'-- just words? 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself'-- just words? Just speeches?" – Barack Obama (borrowing heavily from Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts).
As President Obama's approval numbers continue to fall, (a Rasmussen poll shows his public support down 19 points since the start of the year), pundits are beginning to ask why. After all, approval ratings rise and fall, but the rate of Obama's decline in popularity is unprecedented for a newly elected president.
Perhaps it's all about the economy. Or maybe Obama is being rightly blamed for flawed policies, such as his proposals to exert more government control over health care. Or maybe Afghanistan is more politically problematic than we imagined. More likely, though, his fundamental problem is that he has, thus far, failed as a communicator. After all, a great orator may not be able to sweep problems under the rug forever, but shouldn't he be able to utilize his rhetorical skills to remain popular during his honeymoon? (Of course, truly great orators such as Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan use their words to solve problems, not merely mask them, but you get my point.)
Ironically, the ability to communicate and inspire us was always billed as Obama's strong suit. Clearly, it was not his experience as a U.S. senator, military leader, or entrepreneur.
But too many intellectuals mistook elegance for eloquence. In many cases these were liberals who saw what they were looking for. Still, far too many "serious" conservatives supported Obama because he was – believe it or not – a good speaker.
The folks who bought into the notion that Obama is a truly great communicator failed to appreciate that his margin of victory was not terribly impressive. Considering the obstacles Republicans faced in 2008 and the economic collapse that had occurred, Obama should have won with more than 52 percent of the vote. And going back to the primary election, Hillary Clinton outperformed him during the second half of the campaign.
No single event has illustrated Obama's rhetorical failings more than his big prime time press conference on health care in July. This was his chance to speak directly to the American people and win them over. Aside from becoming embroiled in the Henry Louis Gates affair – which took up a week of attention – Obama clearly failed to persuade the public of the virtues his health care ideas, as his popularity continued to fall.
Obama will reportedly begin a new push for health care reform this week. There is still time for him to turn things around, but the essential element will be his ability to sell his ideas to the American public. So far, we aren't buying.
Most now recognize him as a historical ignoramous, community organizer, fascist, socialist, Commie, Un-American hypocritical limousine liberal.
More importantly he fails to understand how Americans think.
And too many--elitists and populist mobs alike--supported him based on race.
Then deluded themselves that their being motivated by skin color somehow raised they above judging based on skin color, and called those who didn't agree with them "racist".
Typical liberal incoherent logic.
No wonder this country is going down the drain like it dropped over Niagara Falls.
Maybe the “Great Communisticator”
The biggest difference between President Reagan and Obama is two fold. First President Reagan was a true President. Second, President Reagan told the truth and the people trusted him. There is no longer any trust with todays President. He has lost his office.
He’s hoping the little school kiddies will be an easier sell next Tuesday.
“No single event has illustrated Obama’s rhetorical failings more than his big prime time press conference on health care in July”
The Kenyan says the most ridiculous things that make people go huh? Like surgeons chop out tonsils for the bucks. He says crazy things.
The Kenyan is a stuttering idiot.
The media has been pushing this lie forever. Obama is not an inspiring speaker. Not in the least bit. Bill Clinton is far better speaker.
Why not just say that he is “The Great Communist.”
It’s still ‘above his paygrade’.
The only great communicators are those that are able to speak from the heart about who and what they are.
Obama is not that. He has read from a teleprompter and has spoken well, but he is not speaking from the heart. That is why they bring up the false stories about his childhood in speeches. Only problem is, we are all denied all of his records, people who knew him as a child etc. He is a made up entity.
Once people catch on that he is all false all of the time, he loses them.
People are who they were, who they knew, what they have believed in the past, where they went to school, what they wrote, who their parents were. It is a fabric, something that is woven into the cloth they are now.
With Obama, he is only what has been made up and fed to the masses.
His wife is a fashion trend setter too. At least according to the left. They so wanted another JFK and Jacqueline they bought a fake one of each off the rack of a back alley rag merchant in Chicago.
Pre Election many heard what they wanted to hear from Obama and he artfully crafted his words and his narative to facilitate that phenomenon. Now people are having a tough time reconciling what they thought they heard from Obama with the reality.
He was a great communicator until things got all wee weed up.
Even worse for Obama, the public is tired of his long "nuanced" policy statements that say nothing. He's a great speech reader as long as the topic is vague. But he appears incapable of articulating a closely reasoned argument in a way that shows he understands what he is advocating.
America smells an empty suit.
“And going back to the primary election, Hillary Clinton outperformed him during the second half of the campaign.”
And probably would have beaten him if the Undemocratic party had not rigged the game against her.
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