Obama's as good an orator as Reagan was, with the benefit of objective facts and truth

[Rabrrrrrr]

I loved listening to Reagan - great speaker, in terms of ability to deliver a speech. A real master of oration. And even though I was a young'un, while I enjoyed the beauty of his delivery and structure of the speeches, I also knew that everything that came out of his mouth was a lie, an obfuscation, or just random bullshit with no basis in any reality that God ever created.

So now with Obama we have a great speaker, brilliant thinker, and orator who ALSO isn't lying his ass off for some psychopathic ideological jihad.

Reagan - all lies, but majestically delivered in a way that could even trick some of the intelligent people

Shrubya - all lies that were blatantly transparent to anyone with a first grade education, and delivered like a third grader who had a turtle head poking out

Clinton - very good speaker, pretty much always the truth and delivered well, even if he did punctuate with his thumb a fuckall lot

HW Bush - mostly lies, delivered in a rather uninteresting (though quite literate) way

Obama - literate, exciting, and truthful, though not quite with the soaring majesty of MLK, Jr. or, yes I'll say it, Reagan; but pretty damned close,and he still wins for the fact that he actually is speaking truth, knows what he's saying, and isn't dumbing shit down.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Bubba was damned fine, too. nt

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. As I said. Yes.

And he still is.

[Captain Hilts]

3. Beyond Reagan, the R's don't speak as well, do they?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. There hasn't been another good speaker among R presidents in our lifetimes.

Poppy Bush was mediocre on a good day, and Junior was probably the worst speaker in the last 100 years. Even Nixon was better, and he wasn't very good.

[Captain Hilts]

5. GHWB was dreadful. Carter was pretty lousy too. nt

[Iggo]

16. As much as I hate to admit it, I was fascinated with Nixon at the time.

Of course, I was just a little kid back then. I'd've listened to anyone with a booming voice and a big smile. Little did I know...

[Mopar151]

6. I am so happy we have a Prez that does'nt make me cringe

It's been a LONG time

[Orrex]

7. I've listened to Reagan's speeches over the decades, and I just don't get it

I can't stand his diction or his voice, and the fact that it's 99% bullshit 99% of the time makes it impossible to bear.

I can even recall a few moments of objective insanity coming out of his mouth, without even including the ol' missiles are flying "gaffe."


He was horrible by every measurable standard.

[Richardo]

8. Me neither

I never figured out where the 'Great Communicator' thing came from. True, he didn't stammer, but other than that he was all platitudes, propaganda and catch-phrases.

[Misskittycat]

9. Same here. Never got why he was considered such a great orator. n/t

[Kali]

13. I could tell he had Alzheimers way back then

he had that senile, friendly-but-clueless, old guy stare early. The jokes and stories that were generic and likely repeated OFTEN. Oh yeah, very familiar with it.

[Orrex]

20. I have to admit that I couldn't tell at the time, since I had no experience with it...

but in retrospect, it's hard to see how we all missed it, if indeed we did.

[lunatica]

10. I didn't like Reagan's speeches at all

But I was obviously much older than you were. I must have been at the age when being bullshitted so obviously just left me cold. I never liked Reagan even for one second. He wrapped himself in the flag and made the US forget about ever dealing with it's darker side. He made greed good and partisan politics mandatory. He also unleashed Cheney and Rumsfeld and a few others on this country in the name of patriotism.

[Zomby Woof]

15. Ford unleashed Cheney and Rumsfeld on us

Rumsfeld served as Ford's first White House Chief of Staff, and then Ford's Secretary of Defense (so he had two shots at the job). Cheney succeeded Rumsfeld as Chief of Staff, and then became Ford's campaign manager in '76. Under Reagan, Cheney was in the House of Representatives the entire 8 years, and Rumsfeld was in the private sector.

Reagan did unleash plenty of other fecal blobs upon us, but not these two.

[hobbit709]

11. Reagan could give great speeches

but I wouldn't call him an orator

[Iggo]

17. I'd call him an actor.

[2georgeorwell]

12. truth?

i'll take content over style....i ditched obama when he ditched his pastor.....whatever the center (right) wants, he does....war? good. insurance profits? good. wall street? good don't like my pastor? gone

[Bertha Venation]

14. turtle head? please explain

I shudder to think it means what I think it means :scared:

[gmoney]

19. referenced by Fat Bastard in Austin Powers...

Refers to an urgent need to find a toilet because the turtle's head is already pokin' out.

[gmoney]

18. But Obama uses a TELEPROMPTER

I think he's the first person in history to ever use one. :sarcasm: