Rhetoric

On the advice of a friend I took a few minutes tonight to find and watch Clinton's speech at last week's Democratic Unity Dinner. (For the time being the video is still available on C-Span. Clinton's bit starts about 1 hour and 10 minutes in and he speaks for 30+ minutes.) Whatever your thoughts are on the man there can be little doubt that he knows how to give a speech. He knows how to hit the right notes and he knows just the right way to deliver the lines. Neither George Bush or John Kerry know how to deliver a speech with Clinton's rhetorical skill. Both men would be lost trying to give the speech Clinton gave. John Edwards is the only other politician I could think of who might have been able to give the speech Clinton gave.

John Kerry's speeches have become less ponderous, but he has a way to go. His only saving grace is that he's going up against a guy who can't form a complete sentence. For those craving oration, this fall will be a disappointment. The debates will be between a man who can't form sentences and a man who can't end them.