Although I consider myself a liberal, I feel obligated to remind readers that President Obama has a speechwriting TEAM at his disposal led by none other than 20-something Jon “the groper” Favreau who became notorious with the photo of him and his drunken buddy sexually molesting a life-size cardboard cutout of newly appointed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Posted on Facebook the photo went viral, telling the rest of the world that while preaching to others about human rights, America defiles women in leadership roles in our own government.
That same youthful Favreau no doubt had a hand in preparing the speech Obama will read from a teleprompter this evening to a joint session of congress in an attempt to take back control of the health care reform debate.
In light of all the above Harris and Martin’s post at Politico today titled Obama’s media skills face pivotal test has a perhaps unintentional satirical bite:
This summer marked the fifth anniversary of the Democratic Party’s swoon for Barack Obama, who thrilled millions of people hearing the young state senator for the first time with words that set his image as a dazzling unifier in an age of mean and divisive politics:
“Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes,” Obama told the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. “Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America — there’s the United States of America.”
Five years later — amid declining approval ratings and an increasingly polarized debate over health care — President Obama is losing his argument. Far from taming the forces of accusation, personal malice and ideological fervor, Obama and his signature health care agenda this summer became their target — and at least partly their victim.
What’s more, as he prepares to address Congress in a nationally televised speech Wednesday, one of the main pillars of Obama’s reputation — that his gift for healing words would combine with the power of his biography to transcend the rancor of modern politics — has never looked more wobbly.
Even some Democratic strategists say Obama and his vaunted political and communications teams should have seen it coming.
“The true impact of congressional or party leadership is declining every day compared to the power of blogs and talk radio,” said longtime Democratic pollster Paul Maslin. “It was surprising to me that Obama and company were caught unaware by this. They should have been first to realize you can mobilize people and use forms of communication to get people riled up.”
Read more:
Way to go Sarah! I've been HOPING you would hire some knock out speech writers!! (Bet they're not gropers either!)
ReplyDeleteSo Sarah is using a ghost writer, eh? Probably someone I know! LOL.
I have some fairly close friends who are professional ghost writers. Though they can never divulge names, they tell me we'd be astonished if we know who uses them.... And, I believe it! Cuz their lifestyles indicate that they are getting paid quite well, thank you.
SYD
SYD,
ReplyDeleteSarah's article at the Wall Street Journal is very well written. And it continues to amaze me that her critics attack her for getting help from speechwriters, ghost writers, whatever, while Obama even had Ted Sorenson on his side during the campaign. And all of his youthful admirers had to be hit over the head before they believed their idol didn't write his own speeches.