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To: USARightSide

“His people were neglectful in prepping the area where he stood.”

I disagree. As someone who has given many public speeches, none with a teleprompter I might add, it is the speaker’s responsibility to ensure he/she is prepared for the speech. This means personally checking out the podium, the microphone, the location of props, the advancing of any slides, the use of pointing devices, and the availability of water. A good speaker makes sure she/he has used the restroom immediately before coming out on stage and takes a drink of water to avoid dry mouth while talking. A well prepared speaker should be able to talk for 20-30 minutes without needing a drink of water. However, in the event water is needed it should be conveniently placed inside the podium in a tasteful glass. A good speaker will actually practice lifting the glass to the lips from its hidden location as part of the preparation.

If Rubio aspires to higher office, this was a critical speech. Few politicians get the opportunity to appear in prime time to rebut a sitting US President. As the speaker his performance is 100% his responsibility. Yes, his people were neglectful but every excellent leader knows there are times you don’t trust the details to the “staff”. Rubio should have also known the hostile press is looking for any excuse to diminish him which should have made him hypersensitive to checking every detail and rehearsing the speech in the actual setting several times.

His need for water during the speech does not surprise me and should not have been an issue. The fact the water wasn’t at hand does concern me. It suggests he is still immature, not into the details, and not ready for prime time.

The GOP elites have decided the answer to the party’s inability to inspire the electorate is to run a young inexperienced minority as President. They want to repeat with Rubio what the Democrats did with Obama in 2008. What they fail to recognize is Obama had the press 100% behind him so his imperfections were covered up. With Rubio the imperfections will be magnified. Even the trivial, as this water incident demonstrates, will be blown out of proportion.

Over the next 2-3 years the press will chip away with Rubio with incidents such as the one we have just seen. No matter how carefully Rove and the establishment dress him up and promote him as the shining star, the press will squeal with delight every time a hair is out of place, he yawns during a speech by someone else, or he stumbles getting in or out of a car. By the time the primary season comes around the electorate, particularly the swing voters will have nagging doubts about his readiness for prime time.

At the opportune moment the big bomb will drop. I question only whether the moment of destruction will occur near the end of the primary season when there is no strong candidate to replace him or will it occur after he is nominated so he will have to withdraw and whoever the GOP replaces him with will have no time to recover, particularly if the opposing candidate is Hillary. Does Rubio have a jilted girlfriend from college, a mistress, a one night stand they can turn into a major story? Was Miami drug money used to finance one of his early campaigns? Can the press bring out his use of Republican Party credit cards to pay for personal expenses and blow it up into a major credibility issue? Did he make an off color joke about women, blacks or white people at a party years ago? If there is a chink in his armor, Hillary’s agents are hard at work discovering it. They will throw it into the public domain and the press will run with it at the right time.

The Democrat Party is 100% committed to the statist vision of America as a socialist nation and secular society in which a few elites exclusively control the wealth and political power of the nation to rule over the masses. The Republican Party has no core beliefs or philosophy. It is an empty shell. Its politicians claim to be “conservative” but they have no passion for conservative principles or the concept of individual liberty. Having failed to inspire the electorate in a series of national elections the dying party is now preparing to stake its future on the politics of personality.

Knowing the aging Hillary will be on stage in 2014, trying to make history as the first female and first spouse of a President to be elected to the office, they will up the anti by running a young Hispanic to make history as the first Latino President. The ideas and beliefs do not matter. The future of liberty does not matter. The elites governing America will treat the electorate, in the media age, to the spectacle of the young Hispanic gladiator against the aging female lioness.

If young Rubio hopes to even have a small chance against Hillary, he’d better start attending to the details and make sure his glass of water is close at hand when he gives a speech. Only he can be responsible for what he looks like in front of the cameras. If he trusts the details to “staff” the Clinton loving press will have many magical moments to record over the next three years. The lioness may be old, but she is very experienced, wise, and evil. She, and her followers, are attending to every detail.


52 posted on 02/14/2013 6:28:46 AM PST by Soul of the South (Yesterday is gone. Today will be what we make of it.)
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To: Soul of the South

Your post touches on something I thought about with the Romney campaign. That being a candidate’s over reliance on consultants and handlers. To me a good candidate should not need them.


53 posted on 02/14/2013 6:36:46 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: Soul of the South

Enjoyed reading your response and totally agree that, in the end, it is the speaker’s responsibility to see everything is in place as per their preferences. I was neglectful in noting that. Probably even heard same in my head, but the fingers didn’t respond!

Some politicians, as well as others, are surrounded by a team - large or small. Rubio’s team did what they could, but Rubio did not seem to ‘have the last word.’ It probably is immaturity. And in such a high-powered occasion.
He will wisen, mature.
Yes, Rubio had better see to the details himself, and he needs smart coaching to point out those things.

Now, bottle of water, glass of water - which is better??!
Drink into the camera, or turn sideways?? No need to turn one’s back. Honestly - the visuals makes a difference.
If a bottle, the cap had better be off!
Simply practice, - rehearse everyone!

In the rebuttal to the SOTU speech, year after year, the Republicans do not have a clue as to how to position their speaker. The setting. What the heck is up with that???
They have another year to work on it.
If desired, the setting can be ‘casual, soft’ but the speaker should be solidly planted.

The press - what can be said?
Funny thing with this one, tho. This ‘Grab For The Water’ moment may turn in Rubio’s favor - we’ll see.
Self-deprecating humor is a good start.

‘Evil Hillary’ - -ahhh. Maybe she will be unavailable in 2016 - -

There is much in your response, SOTS. Thanks - the readers will learn a lot.


56 posted on 02/14/2013 2:45:19 PM PST by USARightSide (S U P P O R T I N G OUR T R O O P S)
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