Who Is The Better Speaker?

Right now the elitist liberals in the U.S. are having fun... pretending they are so accustomed to George W. Bush's sometimes halting style of speech that they are confused when Barack Obama speaks in complete sentences. What is really funny here is the liberals display of their own ignorance.

During my radio broadcasting career, we learned that you often have the opportunity say it only once, so it is important that you say it correctly. Unlike print, where the reader can stop and re-read what you have written, there is no go-back in broadcasting (until, at least, the advent of Tivo!). We used to say KISS, or, Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Simple is okay. Clearly understood is what we actually wanted. .

Steven Pinker is a professor at M.I.T. who has written books on language. Dr. Pinker is a man after my own heart. While he does not exactly trash the rules that make language a bit more melodious, he does not give those rules paramount importance.

In essence, Dr. Pinker says the object of language is the transfer of thoughts or ideas. If person "A" says something to person "B" and "B" clearly and accurately understands what "A" was thinking, their language is good. Bravo, Steven Pinker!

Unfortunately, in the dumbing down of America, the language czars have prevailed and a large number of people now put style over substance. No wonder print readership is falling. What is said is no longer as important as how it sounds.

George W. Bush is a good and decent man. When he answers a question he takes a moment - often in mid-sentence - to weigh his thoughts, to be sure he is accurately and clearly conveying those thoughts in his speech. This sometimes makes him sound halting, which the intellectuals interpret as stupid. Now along comes Obama, whose flowing rhetoric sounds really intelligent.

Everyone is impressed with his manner of speech. Few are hearing what he is saying.

For example, in a discussion of abortion, Obama said, "If one of my daughters makes a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby." Millions of adoring fans thought he was a caring and considerate father.

A less eloquent, but more forthright, speaker may have said: "If my daughter falls for some smooth talk, gets laid and creates a baby, we'll just kill the damn thing. Can't have my daughter burdened with taking responsibility for her own actions."

How would Americans have reacted to that statement? It was, after all, just a more accurate way of expressing the exact same thought Obama was sharing.

To me, the most beautiful expression of intelligence is when someone says, "Wait a minute... what did he just say?" Let me know if you ever hear that.