NYC Letter: Soaring Oratory III

Day 103 of CHOPE

Once public speaking required not just lofty rhetoric and a persuasive delivery but also a dependable memory. These three qualities, the creative and the practical crafts, when conjoined in the speaker might move nations to war or to unimaginable outsized spending. But writers guilds and technology have reduced oratory to little more than dramatic reading. Political oratory is further diminished by the need to not actually say anything while inspiring audiences to support the speaker.

Mr. Obama is esteemed a gifted political orator by many people, foremost Mr. Obama himself. In a new epilogue for the paperback edition of his straight-to-overstock autobiography, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recounts how in 2006 Mr. Obama confirmed just how right Harry got it.

"That speech was phenomenal, Barack," I told him. And I will never forget his response. Without the barest hint of braggadocio or conceit, and with what I would describe as deep humility, he said quietly:

"I have a gift, Harry."

Of course Mr. Reid is not a gifted orator -- or writer -- and he here tries to oversell the hagiographic moment, which gives us pause.

We would describe Mr. Obama's oratory as workmanlike. And like any good workman he depends on reliable tools to ply his trade: writers, cameras, and the teleprompter. Most especially the teleprompter.* When the teleprompter performs poorly, Mr. Obama, a gifted reader, becomes discombobulated.**

President Obama’s speech at the National Academy of Sciences Monday morning hit a brief snag when Obama got ahead of his script.

Laying his plan for a President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Obama began to name the members of PCAST listed in his prepared remarks – before realizing he’d already introduced them, earlier in his speech.

In addition to John – sorry, the – I just noticed I jumped the gun here. Go ahead. Move it up. I had already introduced all you guys.

SPEED READER
Move It Up

CHOPE.

Blather. Lather. Hey, keep up!

------------------------------------
* Mr. Obama's teleprompter has its own blog.

** And this.