Public Speaking

This is a special treat for all the linguists and language philosopher in da houze. It is time to compare and contrast the rhetorical styles of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Lady's First :

Highlight of the speech it's right there at the beginning :
I come tonight with a very full and I want especially to thank New Hampshire. Over the last week, I listened to you and in the process I found my own voice.

John Edwards is next :

Highlight from the last third of the speech:
I want to be clear to the 99% of Americans who have not yet had the chance to have their voices heard that I am in this race to the condition, that I intend to be the nominee of my party and I am in this race until we have actually restored the American Dream and strengthened and restored the middle class of America.

So I ask all of you here and all of you who can hear the sound of my voice that 99% whose voices have not been heard in this democracy to join us in this grassroots campaign to create the kind of America that all of us believe in.

The one debate I decide to skip is the one debate that becomes the one to watch. Had it not been for Tim Russert's Botoxed eyes, I would have grabbed a mojito and enjoyed the truthiness, but I did not.

Which is why I am aghast by this clip put together by the John Edwards campaign. This one is too good to pass up.

Wow.

Now I can see why there's so much clucking about this debate. She really flip-flopped badly, didn't she?

Sally Fields won an Emmy Award last night. Unfortunately, she also won another opportunity to make an ass of herself by making "the statement of the night" at another awards show broadcasted to millions of households across the globe.

I hate it when Sally Fields gets all manic and twitchy, ready for her emotionally retarded speeches. Sally Fields making "a statement" is like listening to a banshee all decked out in felt scratch his nails on a blackboard while chewing styrofoam. Dogs weep when she gets on a podium and starts soap-boxing.

Which is no wonder why people at Fox Networks decided to rather aggressively bleep her ass, blackout the TV screen and force her off the stage. Take a look at how they violently do away with her dignity :

Here's the thing : Sally should have bowed out at 1:28 in this film clip. Had she stopped at that first round of applause, she would have left with a succint speech about the importance of acknowledging the selfless work of all mothers, especially the mothers of those "left in harm's way by war". Had she taken the cue from her peers, she would have walked away with the most profound speech of not just the evening but any awards show in recent memory.