Content is Important

The airwaves are full of commentary concerning the shooting of 19 people in Tucson last week. I won’t add my thoughts about the event but I do want to comment on the Presidents remarks at the memorial service.

At a moment in time when the country needed a calming and statesman like talk I was hoping that Mr. Obama would strike the right tone and say the right words. I was both pleased and disappointed when I listened to his words. His delivery was unengaged and almost pedantic while the words he said were right on target. Although he is an intelligent man, listening to him made me think of an individual plodding through his talk reading each word without emotion and just hoping to get to the end as soon as possible. The applause and laughter also seemed to be scripted and overall my impression was it was no Gettysburg Address.

After his remarks I went to the While House website and printed out his talk and to my surprise I found that whoever wrote the speech (and it may well be that Mr. Obama had a large hand in crafting the talk) did a good job. The rhythm and cadence of the written words and the emotional content of understanding will make this a talk that will be considered influential at a moment of discourse.

Well done sir.