I have just caught on Sky News a fairly long section of a speech today by Barak Obama and it has put me to pondering on the differences in rhetorical styles between him and his rival, Mr. McCain. There's not much doubt that Mr. Obama is the more fluent speaker with the confidence to launch himself into lengthy sentences containing several clauses which provide the space needed to express some lofty ideas. The problem is that this windy rhetoric somewhat resembles hurricane Gustav, it spins round and round its own axis, winding itself into higher and higher states of energy, getting people very agitated, until finally it hits hard land, at which point it collapses. In comparison, Mr. McCain is a poor speaker who prefers to stick to short sentences which gives his rhetoric a staccato style. And yet, oddly, whilst I cannot remember a single sentence spoken by Mr. Obama even though I heard him speak only two hours ago, I can clearly remember one of Mr. McCain's short but vivid lines from last week: "America is not just a place but an idea!" That deserves an entry in the next edition of a Dictionary of Quotations.
The problem with Mr. Obama's more convoluted rhetorical style is that it obscures rather than reveals the man behind it. I can understand why Mr. Obama finds it necessary to use it because, of course, he is intelligent enough to know that the lofty but vague aspirations he expresses to his devoted followers will go straight through the White House shredder if he is lucky enough to get that far. This leaves him somewhat indeterminate; there is, beneath the high rhetoric, a lack of explicit, or even, implicit, direction. Mr. McCain, on the other hand, is a man who is obviously comfortable in his skin. Yes, of course, like all politicians he has to duck and dive on certain particulars but on the whole you can gather from the short, sharp sentences of his rhetoric that in any given situation he will go there, but not there.
The next two months are going to be fascinating. Obviously I hope that McCain wins not least because if he fails, I shall be left naked and shivering, exposed as the world's worst political forecaster - again!
Take heart Mr. Duff,
You will not be the "worst political forecaster of all time" although you may qualify as a tying one.
One of the reasons I try to avoid betting.
Posted by: JK | Sunday, 07 September 2008 at 20:28
Thanks, 'JK', you make me feel better about myself!
Posted by: David Duff | Sunday, 07 September 2008 at 21:08
Hey David,
I was on another comment section of some other blog and (as always) astutely researching for relevant statements from current politicians in the "thick of things" to illustrate something when I came across a quote I thought, "aha, David needs this."
"Let me start off by saying that in 2000 I said, 'Vote for me. I'm an agent of change.' In 2004, I said, 'I'm not interested in change—I want to continue as president.' Every candidate has got to say 'change.' That's what the American people expect." —Washington, D.C., March 5, 2008" George W. Bush.
Slate.com
I'll check back in for the appropriate thanks, I'm engaged.
Posted by: JK | Monday, 08 September 2008 at 02:26
Good ol' 'Dubya', smarter than he looks!
Posted by: David Duff | Monday, 08 September 2008 at 20:02