Obama is not an outstanding orator IMO.
Not bad, but not good. I commented when he was running against Hillary that Obama spent a lot of time listening to MLK trying to copy his speech pattern...but you can't copy someone's soul.
Great orators will stand the test of time.
Obama won't.
We don't have any great orators at this time.
Were it not for Bush and the republicans complete screwup, Obama would not be president.
Policy decisions are another matter, and McCain wouldn't have done much differently except maybe invade Iran by now instead of Obamacare.
Reagan was an actor, so he was trained in make believe parts, including his stint as president.
Great orators?
Martin Luther King, Bobby and Jack Kennedy come to mind. Don't know of anyone I have seen for a long time who could touch them.
Bobby Kennedy's short speech following MLK's murder in Indiana rates very highly because of the speech itself, (which he didn't have written for him but just jotted down some notes on the way to a rally) no teleprompter, etc. but maybe more so because of the circumstances under which he gave the speech.
The days of the teleprompter have take away the great orators...except for the actors who grew up reading cue cards and became more natural for it.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was a great orator.
I was talking to a liberal on Friday, and she is a big Obama fan.
I asked her a simple question, which revealed much about her real position.
I asked her: "Do you love Obama, or do you love his message?"
She had to admit that she didn't actually love Obama...but loved his message.
People loved Jack and Bobby, loved MLK, and the vacuous right wing loved Reagan.
I don't believe the teaparty loves Palin, or Bachmann, or either of the Pauls. I don't think the old line GOP loves Mitt or any of the other also rans. I think they love the message.
I don't see anyone on the horizon who is going to inspire that type of love for the person themselves beyond the politics they espouse today.
It is rare these days to find true love for politicians any more. So I think most people just judge the message of the orators, their politics, rather that the true oratory skills.
One other thing.
I have a theory that there are three areas that people can speak from. The head (which Obama does a lot of). The lizard brain gut, which fear mongers do, attempting to gain favor by appealing to the lower instincts of fear...and those who speak from the heart, which appeals to our higher nature.
A great orator will speak honestly and appeal to all of these three areas. You feel them in your head, their ideas ring true. You feel it in your gut, and your feel them in your heart. These people are truly loved, as their greatness is not a product of their political position or populist movement.
The 2012 election is 100% about the economy. If the economy is decent, the middle can still be captured by Obama...especially since the GOP doesn't have any ideas or solutions for how to grow and prosper in the new world we live in.
If the economy sucks, the republicans win by default.
The wild card for Obama will be if a Tea Party independent runs and takes away votes from the GOP.
It pisses me off that Obama is focusing on the next election. I would prefer he stand up and tell the American people, "I am not governing for the next election. My goal is to do whatever is right in the time I have left, and if what I do is right, the election will take care of itself."
Right now, I believe Obama is in the midst of a spiritual crisis internally. He is being pulled in many different directions, and either he finds himself and takes a stand, willing to sacrifice his political career for what he believes is in the best interest of America...or he countinues to flounder.
Many on the left are confused with Obama right now, simply because they bought into so stronlgy the image he projected in 2008, that they no longer know who is really is or what he really stands for.
Time for Obama to take a stand, with an atititude that it doesn't matter if I win or lose in 2012, but that I am able to look back and know I honestly did what I could, did what I believe is morally right, and was willing to sacrifice for that goal.
If he can come to that mindset, and speak from his head, heart and soul, he can recapture some of the magic of 2008.
...I doubt he can do it. It is a rare bird that can do that these days.
Quote from nutmeg:
'Obama's The Greatest Orator Of Modern Times'
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Yuppers. I agree.
When he is out of office, he won't attract a crowd on a street corner. The man has nothing to say.
They better serve some dam good food wherever he speaks.
Face the fact, whoever he campaigns for loses. His staff is dropping like flies. Maybe he can do voice overs for GM commercials.
