<p>[YouTube</a> - Don’t Tell Me Words Don’t Matter!](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKfwz3NnSlY]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKfwz3NnSlY)</p>
<p>I guess I need to go back and re-evaluate my stances on the issues; apparently I forgot to take into account that my stances aren’t emblematic of arbitrary social constructs delineating what is so totally in this political season, and what’s SO 2004!</p>
<p>Words <em>do</em> matter. In fact, words are one of the most important contributions of Presidents. Legislators make laws, Cabinet members guide policy, the pentagon and armed forces fight wars, Judges adjudicate disputes. Presidents have to lead and words are key.</p>
<p>Word do certainly matter. Words give a voice to ideas. Words are necessary for debate, discussion and persuasion. Words are necessary to inspire. Words are necessary to lead. Words are necessary to decieve and propagandize. Words are essential component of both love and hate, truth and deceit.</p>
<p>So while words do matter, it is also true that the character of the originator of those words also matters.</p>
<p>Vyse, you are so young that you do not remember what it was like have US leaders who did inspire the nation by what they said and the context in which they said it. Sometimes, great ideas were accepted because of the way they were expressed. Sometimes, bad ideas were accepted because of the way they were expressed. Even routine events were “special” when leaders had the gift of words. </p>
<p>When Kennedy told us “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” nobody laughed. When he said–in West Berlin, at the heighth of the cold war–“Ich bin ein Berliner,” it moved the people in that city in a way that can’t really be explained. (Even though what he said would be more accurately translated as “I am a certain kind of jelly doughnut.”) If you ever go to the Kennedy Library, watch tapes of his weekly news conferences. They are AMAZING. (Yep, there was a time when once a week, the prez got up in front of reporters, let them ask questions, and answered them on live TV. )</p>
<p>When my parents were young, during the Depression, a wealthy man with a huge estate in their area, built a radio receiver of some sort on his property. On Sundays, he opened the gates and hundreds of people came and picnicked–and then listed to FDR’s weekly radio broadcast together. Many of them were too poor to own their own radios. Many were out of work. They trusted in FDR to FIX things. Almost everyone in the US stopped and listened once a week to what the president had to say. </p>
<p>The closest thing to that in your generation was probably Rudy Guiliani on 9/11. As a NYer, I can tell you that what Rudy said mattered…and what Pres. Bush didn’t say mattered too. When Rudy was asked early on “How many people were killed?” He answered "too many. " Reading that it “sounds” trite, but that day, the tone in which he said it was pitch perfect. </p>
<p>On the flip side…when General Marshall gave a speech in which he listed the areas of the globe the US would fight to support and did NOT mention Korea–guess what? We ended up in the Korean War. </p>
<p>And, yes, I WANT desperately to have politics made “cool” again. I want people to feel that the system CAN be fixed. I want people to believe that one person CAN make a difference. </p>
<p>I like Obama for something else too–the man doesn’t just talk, he LISTENS. I mean even the clip on youtube proves that he is listening to the criticisms of him that have been made and is responding to them. (Hillary’s reaction to criticisms of her was to fire her staff.) He comes across as really believing that we should NOT demonize people with differing beliefs. Contrast that with Hillary’s claims of a “vast right wing conspiracy.” </p>
<p>Name every great president the US has ever had. Each and every one was a great orator. Being a great orator is not the ONLY thing necessary to be a great president—but personally, I think it is essential.</p>
<p>I agree I want
being involved
working to make the world a better place for your children
not being embarrassed to be from the US
not being afraid to look and act for the long term and the big picture
If that means politics should be “cool” again
then I am all for it.</p>
<p>As a naturalized American citizen, I continue to be moved by the Gettysburg Address and by the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. They are not empty rhetoric.</p>
<p>Jonri:</p>
<p>Call me crazy, but I’d prefer if Giuliani hadn’t given his firefighters interoperable radios, hadn’t thrown their corpses in the trash, hadn’t left ground zero open long enough just to get the gold out and to hell with human remains, hadn’t put the WTC emergency center INSIDE THE WTC, and hadn’t appointed a crook police chief.</p>
<p>Actions speak louder than words, and Giuliani’s composure in front of the camera meant very little to me. The reason his Presidential campaign was such a disastrous flop is because of the absurd platform that he ran on. Arguing that Giuliani is qualified to be President because he was mayor on 9/11 is like me arguing that I’m qualified to be the fire chief because my kitchen caught on fire.</p>
<p>JFK wasn’t just a great speaker. He was also virulently anti communist. Here’s an interesting article from the globe: [What</a> would JFK do? - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/02/17/what_would_jfk_do/]What”>http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/02/17/what_would_jfk_do/)</p>
<p>Huh? I wasn’t arguing that Giuliani should be prez. I agree with some, not all, of your criticisms—but that’s another thread. </p>
<p>All I was trying to say is that words do matter. In times of crisis, having a leader who is an effective communicator is, IMO, essential. On 9/11 Rudy did a great job communicating, especially with those of us who could see the twin towers burning without the aid of a television set. The Shrub did not. The atmosphere on 9/11 was of a crisis–a crisis that nobody foresaw, at least for that specific date and place. Rudy did a good job dealing with that crisis in terms of communications, IMO.</p>
<p>The ability to speak eloquently during a crisis is, IMO, ONE of the qualifications to be president. Many great leaders were wonderful speakers. Winston Churchill, FDR, Lincoln, Gandhi, are among those. </p>
<p>I also made it clear that I don’t think being a great speaker–and Guiliani usually isn’t–is the ONLY thing necessary to being a great president. I said that it was ONE of the things that’s necessary. Many would argue that JFK was NOT a great president and that but for his assasination, would not have been considered one. It was, after all Lyndon Johnson who actually got most of the Civil Rights initiatives begun by JFK through Congress. That too is for another thread. </p>
<p>A powerful speaker can act for evil. Hitler is the obvious example of that. Lets not forget that he started his path to power using the tools of democracy.(And, for the record, let it not be forgotten that many of those who supported him did so because he was as virulently anti-Communist as they come.)</p>
<p>If you want to attack Obama, feel free. However, IMO, he’s right when he says that words do matter.</p>
<p>I just sat here a while ago while all three of my sons watched that clip on youtube. They then watched a couple of other Obama clips including one with an “interview” with Google that was really funny. </p>
<p>What struck me was that only one of them ever cared about politics. But now all three are interested as I’ve never seen them before. The youngest has never voted although he was old enough last time, but is eager to do so this time. It’s refreshing.</p>