Where are the Palace Guards when you need them?

Hunter Walker at politicker[?]:

President Obama’s Speech Gets A Thumbs Down From Political Press Corps

Prior to President Barack Obama’s marathon 54 minute speech in Ohio today, the Obama campaign sent our several statements promising the speech would be a major address framing the campaign going forward. Despite the hype, the speech was mainly a rehash of themes and ideas from the president’s recent stump speeches and his remarks were widely panned as overly long by the political press corps.

[....]

 

In terms of politics, this speech could have ended about 20 minutes ago. Drive your message, take your ball, go home.

— Mike O'Brien (@mpoindc) June 14, 2012

 

Just cheerleading BO doesn't help him. He needs a sharper, more cogent message with some memorable lines. I ain't walking my criticism back

— Jonathan Alter (@jonathanalter) June 14, 2012

 

 Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.

Comments

[Mannie Sherberg]

To put this in perspective: Lincoln needed little more than a minute to deliver the nation's greatest speech at Gettysburg -- a speech so filled with significance that we are still -- a century-and-a-half later -- extracting new meanings from it. Obama needed 54 minutes to unburden himself of a mishmash of bromides and redundancies. Why the difference? Because Lincoln had some ideas to impart -- and he imparted them; Obama has no ideas to impart -- so he did what all speakers do when they're in a similar fix: they cover their vacuity with verbiage. Public-speaking teachers have a name for this affliction: longiloquence. It's usually found in speakers who -- like Obama -- are known for their grandiloquence.