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You've actually touched on a fine point

Reader comment on item: Giuliani's Fresh Start
in response to reader comment: Voted for Bush

Submitted by MisterH (United States), Oct 20, 2007 at 08:39

I am probably one of the few people on this (mostly foreign policy conservative) blog who does not think that history will look kindly upon our current president, though I do think there will be democracy in countries like Syria, Lebanon, and Oman one day. I certainly agree with you on Bush's lack of charisma and public speaking skills. This is no strike against people with opposing political views. I take an even-handed position here.

Ronald Reagan had great public speaking and leadership skills, and I say this in spite of disagreeing with many of his domestic policies, the fact that he didn't mention the word "AIDS" in public until term #2 notwithstanding. John F. Kennedy had both great public speaking and leadership skills, both of which he would've put to even greater use had he not been gunned down in '63. Richard Nixon, for all he did both right and wrong, had these skills as well. The same is true of Teddy Roosevelt and FDR. George W. Bush does not have the powerful public presence of a great leader. THAT, ladies and gentleman, is his main problem...Not Iraq, not the Arab/Israeli conflict, not the Taliban, not Katrina, not health care, and not global warming, though most of these are certainly up there.

I've always believed that in order to be an influential leader, you had to have good oratory skills, especially if you aren't a brialliant economic, military, or political visionary. This is one of the things that influential leaders, both good (Mandela, Walesa, DeGaulle, Churchill, Lincoln) and evil (Mao, Stalin, Mussolini, Lenin, and Hitler) have in common. The problem with Bush in this sense is that when he opens his mouth, people don't take him seriously. It doesn't matter whether you are on Capitol Hill or protesting in the streets of Tehran and burning effigies of Uncle Sam. This, in the long haul, is Bush's biggest problem... If you are going to be a great leader, you can't be on center stage looking dazed and confused. Otherwise, people all over the world will poke fun at you and laugh at you. It doesn't matter whether you are a populist, a dictator, a conservative, a liberal, a republican, a democrat, a fascist, a communist, or even the pope.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (44) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Hillary vs Rudy [34 words]JimOct 29, 2007 23:16112609
Who would an Islamist elect, Hillary or Rudy? [163 words]jennifer solisOct 30, 2007 22:30112609
Guiliani [18 words]Wanetta CombsOct 24, 2007 22:37112294
A greywash [123 words]AlasOct 23, 2007 03:25112177
Stayin Alive [249 words]Arlinda DeAngelisOct 21, 2007 12:41112104
I Hope Rudy Will Talk To Us About Oil -- Iran Will Be Decided Before 08 -- We're Talking While They're Building Up Defenses [402 words]Sofa SogoodOct 20, 2007 14:21112010
What will the future bring? [165 words]jennifer solisOct 23, 2007 00:08112010
Giuliani's Fresh Start [421 words]kim segarOct 19, 2007 13:08111927
Rudy's Excellent Choices [19 words]Sofa SogoodOct 19, 2007 05:11111910
An example of hypocrisy [108 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
G.VishvasOct 20, 2007 06:11111910
Nobody's perfect, including Islamofacists and who THEY will vote for [175 words]jennifer solisNov 3, 2007 23:56111910
Giuliani for President? [9 words]Joe SpivackOct 18, 2007 16:59111851
My experience in the field of journalism [185 words]Mark E.Oct 18, 2007 14:45111840
More than a lack of research [184 words]Jonathan BurackOct 18, 2007 13:37111831
"Neocons" and Shoddy Journalists [136 words]AlexOct 18, 2007 12:19111821
2The subject of the column is... [71 words]David W. LincolnOct 18, 2007 11:09111818
"bell that cat"? [120 words]jennifer solisOct 19, 2007 14:08111818
Bell that cat - its meaning [72 words]David W. LincolnOct 19, 2007 18:09111818
good choice [85 words]ajfestOct 18, 2007 08:17111802
How odd? No, how predictable. [254 words]LDCOct 18, 2007 07:26111785
Giuliani's Advisers [20 words]Merry WhitneyOct 18, 2007 06:31111782
Neo-Conservatism [151 words]Ian CampbellOct 18, 2007 04:48111773
look, the NY times agrees with Pipes [33 words]yuval Brandstetter MDOct 18, 2007 04:32111771
Neocons [121 words]yuval Brandstetter MDOct 18, 2007 02:07111762
Voted for Bush [35 words]Gunther H. SchiffOct 18, 2007 02:06111760
Gunther [9 words]LDCOct 18, 2007 17:25111760
You've actually touched on a fine point [379 words]MisterHOct 20, 2007 08:39111760
Dear Daniel Pipes - [49 words]jennifer solisOct 17, 2007 23:12111743
Disagreement with Pipes about Bush [20 words]Richard GoodmanOct 17, 2007 23:09111742
Failure to See [23 words]LDCOct 18, 2007 17:28111742
Disappointment [78 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Herbert LevinOct 17, 2007 23:06111741
out with the bad, in with the good [204 words]Rebecca MouldsOct 17, 2007 22:37111739
You, Bush and Giuliani in Newsweek and Time [75 words]Edith M. CordOct 17, 2007 21:39111735
NeoConservative Title A Badge of Honor [194 words]John R. PeacherOct 17, 2007 21:07111734
Dear Mayor Giuliani [119 words]Jim RyanOct 17, 2007 20:46111733
neocon definition [112 words]Jeremy KarekenOct 17, 2007 20:27111732
social policy + new laws = squeaky wheels get the money [162 words]jennifer solisOct 19, 2007 00:13111732
Stable families [243 words]Jeremy KarekenOct 19, 2007 17:20111732
Fresh Start Needs One More Element: Sobriety About the Saudi Serpent [292 words]JoeOct 17, 2007 20:16111731
And What About Our Oil? [124 words]Sofa SogoodOct 19, 2007 04:42111731
Hillary Stepping Up on Saudi Serpent [66 words]SinghaOct 19, 2007 22:24111731
Are you a neoconservative? [130 words]Marc SeganOct 17, 2007 20:12111730
Where is our future leader? [207 words]RightSideNewsOct 18, 2007 23:02111730
Questions for newsweek [36 words]infosifterOct 17, 2007 19:54111728

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