Wednesday, January 21, 2009
'It was a shovel ready speech'
Charles writes in to say Obama's address "was a shovel ready speech" that worked: "We're not at a point where swinging for the rhetorical fences makes sense. Blunt talk for tough times." ... Charles watched the address at the Boston Athenaeum, where he stood near a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and his mind drifted to thoughts of Lincoln and William Lloyd Garrison. ... I didn't initially intend to take on the role of speech-scorecard blogger. But here I am. So let's look at what others are saying about the address. William Safire liked it but:
Charles writes in to say Obama's address "was a shovel ready speech" that worked: "We're not at a point where swinging for the rhetorical fences makes sense. Blunt talk for tough times." ... Charles watched the address at the Boston Athenaeum, where he stood near a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and his mind drifted to thoughts of Lincoln and William Lloyd Garrison. ... I didn't initially intend to take on the role of speech-scorecard blogger. But here I am. So let's look at what others are saying about the address. William Safire liked it but:
A good speech has to have a memorable theme, stated early and reprised at the end. It did not emerge in this address. A theme was tacked on as a kind of afterthought — “a new era of responsibility” — and pitched to the news media a few days beforehand to ensure it would make the lead.My favorite analysis comes from William Gavin, who notes there's an eloquence of words and yet:
But the setting — the first African-American standing there in the bright winter sunshine as our new president — had an eloquence all its own. I think we will remember this occasion more for the man who gave it than for the words he said. He could have stood there for 20 minutes of silence and still communicated great things about America.
Anyhow, God bless him and his family, and I hope he is a great president.
