Obama as Orator? Overrated

Written by Gusher on Monday January 25, 2010

Obama once described his public speaking abilities to Harry Reid as a "gift." Now, as he prepares for his State of the Union address, the Beltway chattering class is allowing itself to ask a previously unutterable question: "Is Obama really that good of a speaker?"

I have long been in a minority of people who has been unimpressed with President Obama's abilities as a speaker. As a candidate, I thought his speeches sounded eloquent, but were generally content-free. As president, the opposite seems to have happened. His policy speeches are often deadly dull, with hardly any memorable phrase or other forensic feature, such as contrapuntal phrasing or alliteration, to help make them memorable.

This is not a partisan point. I have always thought Bill Clinton an underrated speaker. His great strength is his ability to distill a complex point to its essence so that the everyday people can see their stake in it. That allowed him to reach out to people who were not true believers and persuade them over to his side. And that, of course, is the essence of presidential speechmaking. In his first term, President George W. Bush was a very effective speaker. In his second term, however, he devalued the coin by saying things that simply weren't to be taken seriously, e.g., Harriet Myers was qualified to be a Supreme Court justice, things were getting better in Iraq, etc. Eventually, people just tuned him out.

Obama seems to be edging dangerously close to the same territory after only a year. It's not hard to see why. His oft-repeated promise that "If you like your health care plan and you like your doctor, you can keep them," has fallen by the wayside. So has the alleged moral imperative of covering the uninsured, as both the House and Senate plans would leave millions without insurance. And let's not even mention closing Guantanamo. All of this and more besides has combined to debase the value of Obama's words. (His "gift," as he modestly described it to Harry Reid.)

And now, ever so gently, the Beltway chattering class is allowing itself to ask a previously unutterable question: "Is Obama REALLY that good a speaker?"

The Washington Post was first into the field on Jan. 17, with a column finally taking note of something the rest of us had identified nearly a year earlier: Obama's favorite phrase, "Let me be clear." The Washington Post even allowed that said phrase often preceded points that were anything but clear. Perhaps in coming months we can look forward to articles calling attention to such phrases as "I have enough on my plate" (invariably delivered before announcing a new nationalization or takeover); "This is a false choice" (issued when he wants to evade the essence of the subject under discussion); "This is not about me" (when it invariably is); and so on.

OK, every president overuses certain words and phrases. What ought to be of more concern to the Obama speechwriting team is an AP article headlined "Capital Culture: Critics Assess Obama's Speeches."

The killer quote is right near the top, coming from no less than the dean of presidential speechwriting (and Obama supporter) Ted Sorensen.

'He is still a very eloquent, articulate speaker,' Sorensen says. 'He is clearly well informed on all matters of public policy, sometimes, frankly, a little too well informed. And as a result, some of the speeches are too complicated for typical citizens and very clear to university faculties and big newspaper editorial boards.'

Ouch. The rest of the article goes on to point out that Obama's speeches are neither very memorable nor, on the basis of the record, very persuasive.

If you are President Obama (or his speechwriters), this is not a discussion you want to see happening. If your man has a "gift," the last thing you want to hear is that the gift is no longer giving. Can the slide be reversed? Yes. A little humble pie in this week's State of the Union could go a long way. Does he have it in him? Maybe, but on the basis of what we have seen so far, I'm not betting on it.

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