"I Screwed Up"- Obama's Simple Language

In this sentence alone, President Obama showed America two important aspects of his presidency. He shows that he is willing to break from the Bush policy of secret, hidden agendas and refusal to come clean. In addition, Obama makes an attempt to speak in a language that is simple for the American public.

Reporters now say that there is an Obama-style of speech based off of this example and many others. It is an effort to speak plainly to the public so that they understand policies that may be difficult to grasp: case in point- the stimulus package.

In the NPR article "The Art of Language, Obama-Style", Obama is praised as an orator. Researchers of presidential speeches believe that Obama continues to get better with speeches. However, the author notes that he may not be as good as President Clinton when "speaking off the cuff".

Regardless, I think we can all agree that President Obama won't be making up meaningless words anytime soon, such as Bush's "misunderestimated". This 44th president is so much more intelligent to make vocabulary errors.

Inauguration of President Obama

I had the opportunity to watch Pres. Obama's inauguration speech yesterday while teaching at school. In the Opinion section of the New York Times today, several speech writers, former writers for presidents from Nixon to Clinton, provided their own thoughts on the quality of the inaugural speech. The article is called The Speech: The Experts' Critique.

I guess everyone was looking for Pres. Obama's speech to be THE SPEECH that would coin a new phrase and be embedded into American history. There are so many comparisons of Obama's speech to Kennedy's speech or even FDR's. Is Obama's speech as memorable? For the most part, these experts agree that Obama's speech is solid and good. However, they do not believe that it is a speech to be remembered in history.

Honestly, I don't need a speech to be remembered. I just need a new president who has a world-view and liberal openness. I believe we have found the president to lead us into a new chapter. One part of Obama's speech impresses me far more than others. Here's an excerpt:
"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.

And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

We may not take a specific sentence from Obama and write it into every US History textbook. Regardless, I'd rather have a component president who's actions speak more than words.