Triumph of the Will

George Will, that is, who provides a masterful post-mortem on The Obama's recent speechifying in Copenhagen and at the UN, among other places.

Ever since Obama hit the national stage, folks have commented on what a brilliant orator he is. I think he benefits in this regard from comparison to his predecessor, who certainly will never be remembered among the best-spoken of US presidents. There's no doubt that the man does a very good job of reading a speech. But in my book, a great speaker has to actually say something. To opine that Obama is sometimes lacking in the content department is a bit of an understatment.

Here's Will dissecting some recent Obama utterances:

The president, addressing the United Nations General Assembly, intoned: "No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation." What was the speechwriter thinking when he or she assembled that sentence? The "should" was empty moralizing; the "can" was nonsense redundantly refuted by history.

Becoming solemn in Copenhagen, Obama said: "No one expects the games to solve all our collective problems." That's right, no one does. So why say that?

In addition to vapid but well-spoken cliches, as Will points out, the President's comments often display a level of egotism remarkable even among occupants of the Oval Office.

In Copenhagen, Will notes, both the Obamas gave moving speeches about... themselves.

In the 41 sentences of her remarks, Michelle Obama used some form of the personal pronouns "I" or "me" 44 times. Her husband was, comparatively, a shrinking violet, using those pronouns only 26 times in 48 sentences. Still, 70 times in 89 sentences was sufficient to convey the message that somehow their fascinating selves were what made, or should have made, Chicago's case compelling.

Presidents often come to be characterized by particular adjectives: "honest" Abe Lincoln, "Grover the Good" Cleveland, "energetic" Theodore Roosevelt, "idealistic" Woodrow Wilson, "Silent Cal" Coolidge, "confident" FDR, "likable" Ike Eisenhower. Less happily, there were "Tricky Dick" Nixon and "Slick Willie" Clinton. Unhappy will be a president whose defining adjective is "vain."