Obama’s Speech
Of course I give President Obama (I love the sound of that) an A+ for his speech. As Carter said in his post, Obama may not match Lincoln as a President (who did?), but he comes close as a writer.
Obama’s rhetorical skill is more than an exceptional way with words and a sensitive ear for their rhythm. He has a big idea behind his rhetoric. That idea animated his campaign – and his Inaugural speech today.
The idea is simple: We’re all in this together. And Americans have done – and can do – remarkable things. He rode that idea from the keynote speech of the 2004 convention to Grant Park the night of the 2008 election.
When you combine a big idea like that with the big troubles of today, in the hands of a skilled writer and skilled speaker, presto – you have a great speech.
Two things struck me about the speech: the somber way he painted where we are today and the optimistic way he talked about how we get out. He hit both notes on the nose.
The only words he got wrong where when the Chief Justice garbled the oath. Impeach that guy.
So much of the coverage and commentary, of course, is about race. But I also hear in Obama’s speech a generational message.
It is a rebuke of my generation, the Baby Boomers; an implicit indictment of an ethos that was too often selfish and self-centered. It is a call for – in the key phrase of the speech – a new era of responsibility.
So the speech was not only a rebuke of Bush and Cheney, as in there being no conflict between our safety and our ideals. It was a rebuke of Bush and Clinton – the two poles of the Boomer generation. Clinton the draft-dodging, self-indulgent philanderer and Bush the anti-anti-war, anti-intellectual but still still-indulgent, flawed individual.
We Boomers may be stuck with those two as the only Presidents of our generation. That’s a lot, guys.
Obama in effect dismissed their administrations as irrelevant to the challenges we face. And he met the goal he set for himself in the speech. He set out in stark terms where we are in this moment and what we face.
He gave us the kind of no-nonsense advice his grandmother may have given him: pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get to work.
It’s a good start.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles
Obama’s Speech
Of course I give President Obama (I love the sound of that) an A+ for his speech. As Carter said in his post, Obama may not match Lincoln as a President (who did?), but he comes close as a writer.
Obama’s rhetorical skill is more than an exceptional way with words and a sensitive ear for their rhythm. He has a big idea behind his rhetoric. That idea animated his campaign – and his Inaugural speech today.
The idea is simple: We’re all in this together. And Americans have done – and can do – remarkable things. He rode that idea from the keynote speech of the 2004 convention to Grant Park the night of the 2008 election.
When you combine a big idea like that with the big troubles of today, in the hands of a skilled writer and skilled speaker, presto – you have a great speech.
Two things struck me about the speech: the somber way he painted where we are today and the optimistic way he talked about how we get out. He hit both notes on the nose.
The only words he got wrong where when the Chief Justice garbled the oath. Impeach that guy.
So much of the coverage and commentary, of course, is about race. But I also hear in Obama’s speech a generational message.
It is a rebuke of my generation, the Baby Boomers; an implicit indictment of an ethos that was too often selfish and self-centered. It is a call for – in the key phrase of the speech – a new era of responsibility.
So the speech was not only a rebuke of Bush and Cheney, as in there being no conflict between our safety and our ideals. It was a rebuke of Bush and Clinton – the two poles of the Boomer generation. Clinton the draft-dodging, self-indulgent philanderer and Bush the anti-anti-war, anti-intellectual but still still-indulgent, flawed individual.
We Boomers may be stuck with those two as the only Presidents of our generation. That’s a lot, guys.
Obama in effect dismissed their administrations as irrelevant to the challenges we face. And he met the goal he set for himself in the speech. He set out in stark terms where we are in this moment and what we face.
He gave us the kind of no-nonsense advice his grandmother may have given him: pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get to work.
It’s a good start.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles