Obama's Speech to Parliament
Discussion
d child of Shatner and Peston.zaphod42 said:
He had a teleprompter in front of him. Dark grey angled glass, front right....
Good speech and a natural orator.
I would imagine that being great at speaking is what politicians do best, otherwise they wouldn’t get very far – it’s usually their actions after their (ultimately empty) words that let them down.Good speech and a natural orator.
(Apart from winky, who wasn't much good at anything.....)
Edited by chris watton on Wednesday 25th May 17:13
chris watton said:
I would imagine that being great at speaking is what politicians do best, otherwise they wouldn’t get very far – it’s usually their actions after their (ultimately empty) words that let them down.
(Apart from winky, who much good at anything.....)
Hmm, I take your point. (Apart from winky, who much good at anything.....)
There are good, natural orators: JFK, Obama, Thatcher, Churchill
Average: John Major, Cameron, Reagan, Blair (though he was better at the beginning)
Poor: Brown, Bush Snr, Bush Jnr (aside from his speech on 9-11 which was exceptional IIRC)
(I mean ability to deliver a speech, I'm not getting into a political debate and I am ignoring content)
zaphod42 said:
Hmm, I take your point.
There are good, natural orators: JFK, Obama, Thatcher, Churchill
Average: John Major, Cameron, Reagan, Blair (though he was better at the beginning)
Poor: Brown, Bush Snr, Bush Jnr (aside from his speech on 9-11 which was exceptional IIRC)
(I mean ability to deliver a speech, I'm not getting into a political debate and I am ignoring content)
I would actually put Blair into the natural orators.There are good, natural orators: JFK, Obama, Thatcher, Churchill
Average: John Major, Cameron, Reagan, Blair (though he was better at the beginning)
Poor: Brown, Bush Snr, Bush Jnr (aside from his speech on 9-11 which was exceptional IIRC)
(I mean ability to deliver a speech, I'm not getting into a political debate and I am ignoring content)
I think a lot of UK politicians come from a debating background rather than the US style of public speaking background.
As much as people say Bush Jnr was a poor speaker, some of speeches are what got him to where he was.
I think the British prefer a guns at dawn approach over a speech.
elster said:
I would actually put Blair into the natural orators.
I think a lot of UK politicians come from a debating background rather than the US style of public speaking background.
As much as people say Bush Jnr was a poor speaker, some of speeches are what got him to where he was.
I think the British prefer a guns at dawn approach over a speech.
I love a good speech. William Hague is an excellent speaker as well. I love a good debate, I just haven't seen one recently in politics outside of the civilised upper house.I think a lot of UK politicians come from a debating background rather than the US style of public speaking background.
As much as people say Bush Jnr was a poor speaker, some of speeches are what got him to where he was.
I think the British prefer a guns at dawn approach over a speech.
It turns out that his grandfather was a cook for the British Army, perhaps all he had to say was that and then leave showing by stark contrast everything we all aspire to in a democracy?
I said it on the other thread but his first joke was a classic, and he didn't even pinch it from Sikipedia. Very witty indeed.
One thing to note, the secret service guys with their Matrix style earphones and badges and starting looks, he must have had 3 of them buzzing around him trying to look "part of the scenery" and failed miserably. At one point they had those guys with a British copper with full Bobbie outfit including helmet in the background, such a disjuncture. They were a bit over the top to be honest.
I said it on the other thread but his first joke was a classic, and he didn't even pinch it from Sikipedia. Very witty indeed.
One thing to note, the secret service guys with their Matrix style earphones and badges and starting looks, he must have had 3 of them buzzing around him trying to look "part of the scenery" and failed miserably. At one point they had those guys with a British copper with full Bobbie outfit including helmet in the background, such a disjuncture. They were a bit over the top to be honest.
zaphod42 said:
I love a good speech. William Hague is an excellent speaker as well. I love a good debate, I just haven't seen one recently in politics outside of the civilised upper house.
You should go to some more hustings. There are loads that happen.Check out local Uni's they usually host MPs and members from all aspects of the political spectrum.
Also check out IQ2 as well. http://www.intelligencesquared.com/
I have seen William Hague speak a few times, some good, some poor. He is very good on off the cuff Q&A.
...I am liking thatgaynorW said:
It turns out that his grandfather was a cook for the British Army, perhaps all he had to say was that and then leave showing by stark contrast everything we all aspire to in a democracy?
It would seem that he has had a relative from every country or region he's ever visited . . . . . Posted this in the wrong section first yime round.
Cameron looks shamefully scruffy in
comparison to Obama's Sharp look,
David also seems desperate to look
like he is in utter agreement with every
ebb and flow of Obama's speech.
either that or he's clinging onto a fart.
Also, where is Cleggy?
Was that an indication that they will
step up powers against Gada
Cameron looks shamefully scruffy in
comparison to Obama's Sharp look,
David also seems desperate to look
like he is in utter agreement with every
ebb and flow of Obama's speech.
either that or he's clinging onto a fart.
Also, where is Cleggy?
Was that an indication that they will
step up powers against Gada
zaphod42 said:
Hmm, I take your point.
There are good, natural orators: JFK, Obama, Thatcher, Churchill
Average: John Major, Cameron, Reagan, Blair (though he was better at the beginning)
Poor: Brown, Bush Snr, Bush Jnr (aside from his speech on 9-11 which was exceptional IIRC)
(I mean ability to deliver a speech, I'm not getting into a political debate and I am ignoring content)
Where did this idea that Obama is a great orator come from?There are good, natural orators: JFK, Obama, Thatcher, Churchill
Average: John Major, Cameron, Reagan, Blair (though he was better at the beginning)
Poor: Brown, Bush Snr, Bush Jnr (aside from his speech on 9-11 which was exceptional IIRC)
(I mean ability to deliver a speech, I'm not getting into a political debate and I am ignoring content)
He is an appalling speaker, who requires a teleprompter for most of his speeches. He's wooden, has that horrible stuttering through a sentence where he puts the wrong emphasis on everything, and so forth.
And some of his speeches in the past make Palin and GWB look like they have a grasp of English!
Jackleman said:
Come on chaps, if Gordon Brown is a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 then Barak is close to top marks. He is genuinely regarded as a good public speaker but yes, maybe not at the top of his game in terms of delivery today, the content was good!
No he's not! Even CNN had to comment about his speeches when he first became President!Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff