President Obama

Review of Romney’s Speech

September 3, 2012 by Art of Eloquence

Like many people, I watched Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, after which, there were the usual reviews by the pundits. I know many of them have been around a lot longer than I have and they’ve heard many more political speeches, but I’d like to share my thoughts on why I disagree with most of them.

Many of them felt Mr. Romney made a great speech, a fabulous speech, one full of powerful words and impressive language designed to drive the crowd into a frenzy. I disagree.

Britt Hume thought it was a good speech, but not a great speech because he felt those made by Paul Ryan and others were much more impressive. I disagree, in part.

Romney’s speech was not flashy or rabble rousing. It was uplifting, inspiring, respectful, honest and sincere. It appeared to be aimed more at the Independents and disillusioned Democrats than the Republican base who had already made up their minds to vote for the Republican nominee.

Romney appealed to the women’s vote by talking about how important and difficult his wife’s career is. He answered the accusations about Bain and the issues of big buisiness and his being out of touch with every day citizens by sharing how difficult it was to build his business, how not everything always worked and the limitations of a company.

He demonstrated a stark contrast to the negative tone of President Obama’s speeches by talking about America’s strength and assured us that hope in a better tomorrow for our children is still out there at a time when most Amercians desperately need hope to cling to.

You don’t always need to be flashy, rude, disrespectful or loud to be effective. Sincere, succint, and honest wins out.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Mitt Romney, President Obama, Republican National Convention, Speech

Politics Week: Who are Our Enemies?

November 1, 2010 by Art of Eloquence

I’ll be making a major announcement tomorrow on our newsletter and then on Wednesday right here on the blog about a new study we have coming out soon. It has to do with how we “talk politics.” In preparation for that, it’s Politics Week here at Communication FUNdamentals. Today I’d like to share a bit of “politicing” going on and how we should and shouldn’t communicate when we talk politics.

Recently, President Obama made a very divisive comment while addressing the Latino community. It was not well received by many as the following YouTube video shows. He ran as a Uniter. He promised to listen to both Republicans and Democrats. He said he wanted to bring us together. However in his recent address he stated:

“If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,’ if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it’s gonna be harder and that’s why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2.”

Not only has President Obama communicated that he sees half of the American people (Republicans) as his enemy or the enemy of the Latino people, but that they need to be punished. I think that’s rather disrespectful to half of the country. I also think it comes at a particularly bad time for the Democrats when polls show that they are way behind.

Later, the President made an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He is the first sitting president to do so and, the fact that he had made the decision to appear there, does the image of the office of the President a disservice. This is not the kind of venue that makes one appear presidential. It was clear that the President didn’t expect Mr. Stewart to be quite so harsh with him, though I think he had to expect some of that given the nature of the show. The President came off as defensive and annoyed.

While I don’t agree with President Obama’s stance on most issues, I didn’t feel comfortable watching the sitting U.S. President on a Comedy Central show being treated like a common goofball celebrity, the depths of which was seen when Mr. Stewart called him “dude.” This is simply disrespectful to the President, even for this kind of a laid back show.

I couldn’t find a video to show you. Frankly it’s embarrassing to watch a sitting president laughed at by the audience and referred to as “dude” by the host, so I’d just as soon NOT. Over all I’d say President Obama made a huge error in judging who his enemies really are.

What say you? What do you think of the President of the United States making an appearance on The Daily Show? And what do you think of Mr. Stewart calling the President “dude?”

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: democrats, dude, Enemies, President Obama, presidential, republicans, Video, YouTube

President Obama's Health Care Rhetoric is Telling

April 7, 2010 by Art of Eloquence

I’ve said this here on Communication FUNdamentals before. President Obama is an accomplished speaker when he delivers a prepared speech. However, when he speaks off the cuff, he tends to get a little flustered. When answering or even anticipating tough questions, the President has been side tracked and even stuck his foot in his mouth. In fact, there are several websites that are now tracking his miscommunication.

Though his health care bill has already passed, so many Americans are unhappy with it that the President feels the need to ‘sell it’ to the people after the fact. According to several articles, President Obama has been talking in circles. This article reports his record-setting run on sentence which I feel is very telling.

Here is an excerpt from a recent speech:

“A lot of people have asked, why is it you seem so calm?

And what I’ve tried to say often — and a lot of times this gets discounted in the press — is that the experience of having traveled throughout this country; having learned the stories of ordinary folks who are doing extraordinary things in their communities, in their neighborhoods; having met all the people who put so much energy and effort into our campaign; having seen the ups and downs and having seen how Washington was always the last to get what was going on, always the last to get the news — what that told me was that if we were willing to not do what was expedient, and not do what was convenient, and not try to govern based on the polls today or tomorrow or the next day, but rather based on a vision for how we can rebuild this country in a way that works for everybody — if we are focused on making sure that there are ladders of opportunity for people to continue to strive and achieve the American Dream and that that’s accessible to all, not just some — if we kept our eye on what sort of future do we want for our kids and our grandkids so that 20 years from now and 30 years from now people look back on this generation the way we look back on the Greatest Generation and say to ourselves, boy, they made some tough decisions, they got through some tough times, but, look, we now have a clean energy economy; look, our schools are revitalized; look, our health care system works for every single American — imagine how tough that was and how much resistance they met from the special interests, but they were still willing to do it — if that was how we governed, then I figure that the politics would take care of itself.”

When a person speaks in circles using run on sentences with convoluted and unclear thoughts, it is usually because they are not sure what to say. I think the President is finding it difficult to sell this to the American people because he knows this is not what they wanted. He’s always known. There are no words to placate the American people after having gone against their will.

President Obama has been saying that the only reason the American people are upset with the health care bill was because they didn’t understand it. That is now proving to be an incorrect assessment. Nobody knew exactly what was in the bill. Most of the politicians hadn’t read it before they voted on it! However, I don’t believe it is the details of the bill that are in dispute between the people and the government. It is the spirit of the bill and the outcome.

It is quite apparent that the President has no words to placate the people, not because they do not understand what it means, but precisely because they do. Further, according to current surveys, it is not just the bill that they disagree with, but the way in which it was passed. According to these surveys, this President campaigned on transparency in government, but the American people see back door deals and a complete disregard for freedom, the Constitution, and the will of the people.

What say you?

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Freedom, Government, health care, President Obama, Speech

This Week’s Faith News

July 12, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

Every Sunday is Defending the Faith SONday here at Communication FUNdamentals. In the last few days there have been a few stories of faith in the news. I thought I’d share some with you.

I received an article on Breaking Christian News that shows how God uses the talents and creativity He gives His children to bring folks to Himself. The original story was on Assist News.net. Take a look at a few snippets:

“(TOKYO, JAPAN)—Who would have believed that Sister Act, the 1992 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg “on the run, disguised as a nun,” would inspire the formation of some 30 Japanese Gospel choirs.”

“My wife Bola, a professional singer, and I, used to be professional entertainers in the Philippines where we were both born and raised,” he said. “Somewhere in the midst of our entertainment career, God sought us and saved us both.”

Taylor said he couldn’t shake God’s call to Japan and finally, after going to seminary in the US and being ordained, the family finally made the move to Japan in 1997 under the coving of a ministry called World Venture.

“We came here with the idea of being involved in helping global churches, yet with a focus on innovative and creative music ministries,” he said.”

“So when ‘Sister Act’ came here, they started watching the movie and saw Whoopi Goldberg singing ‘Oh Happy Day’ and taking those old hymns and making them ‘Black Gospel,’ the people really liked it. So what happened was the businesses in Japan, who are quick to adopt these fads, started offering Gospel choir lessons. It was not the churches, but the community centers that had these choirs.”

“So here were non-Christians in Japan saying that they wanted to sing just like the nuns in the movie. So they began taking Gospel music lessons and, in fact, the first choir that I started began after I was invited to teach in a community center, about ten years ago.”

“For many in the audience, it’s the first time they have heard the Gospel message, so it’s truly pre-evangelism. But, to the choir members that have been with us for a couple of years, they are ripest to receive the Lord.”

Praise God for this outreach to the Japanese people. To read the entire article, click here.

In other faith news, President Obama has nominated a born again Christian to be the next Director of the National Institutes of Health. According to a Christian Broadcasting News article and a Washington Post article, President Obama has nominated Francis Collins, a physician and scientist who helped guide the Human Genome Project to completion, to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health. Both articles report that he is a born again Christian who may help President Obama reach out to the Christian community. The Washington Post reports:

“Rare among world-class scientists, Collins is also a born-again Christian, which may help him build bridges with those who view some gene-based research as a potential threat to religious values.

Collins resigned as director of NIH’s genome institute last August and has since finished “The Language of Life,” a book about the dawning era of personalized medicine, which will be published next year.

If confirmed by the Senate, Collins will lead the NIH’s 27 institutes and centers, which together employ 18,000 people, most at the Bethesda campus. The agency has a budget of $31 billion this year, about 80 percent of which is distributed to scientists elsewhere.”

The Washington Post article spoke highly of Dr. Collins:

“I like it,” Alan I. Leshner, chief executive of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said of the Obama administration’s choice. “Francis Collins is a guy who can speak to top-notch scientists and at the same time has a tremendous skill speaking to the public and policymakers.”

“Collins, who had a conversion experience in medical school, in 2007 published a book, ‘The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.'”

What are your thoughts on his chances of being confirmed and whether or not this will change the way the Scientific Community sees creation? Come share!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: choirs, Creation, faith, Japan, music, President Obama, scientist

Review of Romney’s Speech

Politics Week: Who are Our Enemies?

President Obama's Health Care Rhetoric is Telling

This Week’s Faith News

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