Political Rant

[Mr 5 0]

Originally posted by HonestAl :

Mr5.0,

You are right, they are not the same but neither one of them can deliver a speech worth a damn. I watched Bush's speech on Fri. AM, if I had not just gotten up, I would have fallen asleep. Boring and droning as he is it is better than the blatant lies that Kerry expects the public to swallow. One of these two will be leader of the free world, wouldn't it be nice if they could deliver a speech better than a 6th grader? I wish I could get excited about Bush because I believe he is the better choice, but if you believe that they are not both consumate politicians intent on achieving and maintaining power at the cost of anything that stands in the way, you are not being realistic.

President Bush didn't enter elective politics until he was 47, a scant ten years ago, so he never developed the 'consumate politicians' glib speech-making abilities. Senator Kerry, who is 60 years old, has been making speeches since 1971, when he was a very visible and vocal protestor of the Viet Nam war and first ran (unsuccessfully) for congress in 1972. Kerry has held elective office, including 19 years as a U.S. Senator since 1977. Unfortunately for Kerry, his basset-hound face and stentorian delivery renders his speeches as possibly even less effective than President Bush.

Frankly, although public speaking talent is obviously helpful in politics (ask former tort lawyer John Edwards who sounds like a TV preacher, amen) it just shouldn't be the huge factor it seems to be, today. I think part of this focus on a politicians speaking ability comes from eight years of the loquacious Bill Clinton who could always be counted on to have a quick answer to any question (even if he was lying at the time) and to keep people interested when he spoke. Well, except at the 1988 Democratic convention where he spoke forever and in doing so, made a fool out of himself, which didn't seem to hurt his chances of getting the Democrat presidential nomination four years later.

Yes, President Bush is not a glib or 'dynamic' speaker but he's direct and sincere and generally easy to understand. John Kerry is simply a bore and usually comes accros as an arrogant snob, which I believe he really is. What's a lot more important is: what are these men saying? That's what should count and, ultimately, what will count. In any case, in the speaking department at least; Kerry and Bush cancel each other out as neither are inspiring speakers. Since one of them will be president for the next four years we had best adjust to the fact that we won't be much entertained by their speeches but we still may learn something, as we did after 9/11, when President Bush rallied the nation, even without a great speaking style. Which is why, in the bigger scheme of things, public speaking talent is less important than it's made out to be, as long as the speaker is real and not a phony. Oops; on that premise, maybe Kerry is in more trouble than we realize. Too bad. ; )

As for the two men being power-hungry: in the case of President Bush, I strongly disagree. George W. Bush had a full life before he entered politics and he isn't a career politician in that sense. He doesn't need to be president to boost his ego, as I believe Kerry does. Bush wants the job, of course, because he wants to implement his plans and reach his goals for the nation, based on his political ideology, just as Kerry does with his ideology. However, if Bush lost the election I don't for a moment believe he would be shattered or that not being re-elected would be the tragedy it might be for other men. President Bush is a well-balanced man and while he certainly wants to be re-elected, it isn't all about 'power' for him. Not that he doesn't enjoy the power of the presidency, I'm sure, but that isn't the driving force of his life, in my opinion. Kerry meanwhile leads a party that has a visceral hatred toward President Bush. They really believe he 'stole' the 2000 election even though it's been proven many times that he would have won no matter how the votes were counted. The Democrats revile Bush and clearly think he's 'beneath' them in every way. They hate his Texan drawl, his confident stride, his folksy demeanor and especially, his vocal Christianity. I don't think the Democrats are all that excited about Senator Kerry, they just want to force Bush out of the White House. That's their real goal, aside from re-gaining political power in Washington, D.C. I also believe they will fail. I pray they will fail because a wimpy, ultra-liberal Democrat like John Kerry sitting in the seat of American power worries me...a lot, in this age of terrorism. Bush may not be glib, he may not be smooth all the time but he's no wimp and he does what he says he'll do; from a tax cut to hunting down terrorists wherever they hide. He deserves to be re-elected.


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