Ideally, I’d love to hear some soaring Churchillian oratory, but that just isn’t President Bush’s style. However, this was exactly what Bush needed to say. He needed to remind the American people of why we are fighting, and why we need to finish the job. Bush was determined, strong, confident, and full of resolve. That alone is critically important – a wartime leader must show resolve.
Not a brilliant speech, but certainly passable, and I have a feeling that this will do the job. The media won’t give him a shred of credit, but the American people have lost so much faith in the media that it won’t matter in the long run. Iraq most certainly is critical to the war on terrorism now, and if we pull out we hand al-Qaeda the biggest victory they’ve ever had. President Bush won’t allow that to happen, and I have a feeling the American people won’t allow it either.
Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review says that Bush accomplished his mission tonight.
Hugh Hewitt hated the speech and thought that Bush sucked. Well, not really. He thought that Bush had the clarity needed to make this speech work.
My Red State colleague Josh Trevino, who has been one of Bush’s strongest critics on the right gives Bush’s speech a very positive review.
I think you’re reading the reaction to the speech wrong. It was a passable speech, but I don’t think it was a convincing one, as the arguments used sounded very similar to those given before.
Really, I don’t think that it is within Bush to sway public reaction in any significant way with yet another speech, unless he has something new to say that indicates peace is around the corner. The simple fact is that war — any war — becomes less popular over time. Once the Vietnam conflict found its way into the daily news, at no point did popularity for the war climb in any significant way.
Obviously, the patience of the American people is tested. We’re 1384 days into the War on Terror. That’s 19 more days than the period of time between the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the surrender of Japan. And still, Osama Bin Laden is free, as is Mullah Omar, whose followers apparently just downed a U.S. helicopter today with 16 soldiers on board.
Even Lincoln, a brilliant orator and leader, was clearly trailing McClellan, a so-so general, in the run up to the election. The Gettysburg Address isn’t what won him reelection. The double whammy of Gettysburg and Vicksburg are what did that.
If Bush doesn’t want to be a lame duck, and doesn’t want to drag his party down with him, he’s got to deliver on his promises. America won’t be patient forever.
I think somebody who is president ought to be able to give more than a passable speech. Somebody who is representing our entire country ought to be articulate.
A question for Erica – why? Personally, I prefer substance to style. To me, crap served on a silver platter is still crap. That’s what I kept thinking through eight years (well, four years, until he became marginalized) of Bill Clinton. In fact, that’s why I find it amazing that any informed individual would pay any attention to a debate, aside from maybe assessing who might be more effective in swaying those who haven’t been paying attention up to that point. If the policy is a policy that I prefer, and I believe in, then what do I care whether the person who is in the position to implement that policy is as articulate” as the person who opposes said policy?
Furthermore, rating of speeches occurs in context. Not every president can be the best in terms of givng speeches, and presidents themselves will vary between speeches. Bush’s post-9/11 speech will go down as one of the greatest ever, so he’s certainly a capable speech-giver. Time also impacts our perception of speeches. The Gettyburg Address was considered horrible when first delivered.
Bottom line – Bush is not the greatest orator to occupy the White House, but he’s certainly not inarticulate. And as I’ve pointed out before, his IQ certainly is higher than many of the people who throw the term “chimp” around.
Can someone please give me a response to the Gettysburg address. What was Lincoln saying.