"...there is the assertion that speechmaking is irrelevant. I'm wondering where this country would be without great oratory, without great communicators, without those who have been able to articulate a vision and move a nation.
Where would we be without Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech? Is there a single piece of oratory that defined a moment more than that speech did for the civil rights movement? That speech is a cry for freedom and equality that changed the world. Yes, the marches and the political wrangling with various presidents (yes, including Johnson) mattered. But, it was that speech which encapsulated the simple humanity that was at stake. That speech galvanized a movement, electrified a nation, and embarrassed a government into action.
What about Robert Kennedy's, "Some men see things as they are and ask, 'Why?' I dream of things that never were and ask, 'Why not?"
Or JFK's, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
Churchill's, "Never in the history of mankind have so many owed so much to so few."
Roosevelt's, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Lincoln's, "Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it."
And, now we have Senator Clinton's, "Talk is cheap." Boy, she really knows how a move a nation."
The responses of Clinton supporters to his blog in which they defend the new Clinton strategy are very interesting, and here is my take on those responses:
I am an older guy...a Vietnam vet. The responses of the Clinton supporters to this incisive and spot on blog by Mr. Seitzman remind me so much of the criticisms that were leveled at Senator John F. Kennedy when he ran for president. This is so much "deja vu all over again". Obama's "irrelevant" speeches remind me so much of King, JFK and RFK because they galvanize, inspire and are quite uplifting and full of vision for the future of our country. Does he have specific plans addressing specific issues? Of course he does. They are listed in detail on his website, and he has discussed them many times in many debates. I read the posts written by those who oppose Obama (and I have no problem with people opposing any politician...that is what America is all about) and they keep saying that Obama has no specific proposals. That is simply not true. If you are going to oppose a politician, please be truthful. Now, the Clintons, and I say that plurally because they are both saying the same thing, are saying that Obama is delivering speeches while Hillary is delivering proposals. No. Hillary is delivering speeches, too. It's just that her speeches are not as inspiring and uplifting as Obama's. They are the same old tired elocutions that we have heard for decades, ever since the first Bush was in office. Now, the second Clinton, trying to appear to be a fresh new face, is confronted with her own image: that of politics as usual; that of the past. Obama is right. This election is about the future, and the future shines bright when embraced through the vision embodied in his wonderful speeches. Meanwhile, Senator Clinton continues to sound like so much "sound and fury, signifying nothing", to quote another great elocutor of speeches, William Shakespeare.
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