Something I noted in the style differences at the Unity Dinner last night

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

Clinton, Carter and Gore are, in essence, southerners, raised in southern churches. When they give a speech, one hears the delivery like a southern preacher.

Kerry on the other hand was raised in the Catholic church...when he gives a speech...the pauses and emphasis are very much like an Irish priest delivering a homily.

Perhaps, Kerry can attend a few southern churches on the campaign trail and get some coaching on delivery :D

[LittleApple81]

1. Good suggestion. His MESSAGE is excellent... if you can stay awake

to listen to it.
I don't think you can train him in such a short time. But we can try.
Should I say we MUST try?

[mzmolly]

4. It's quite simple actually. He needs to *shorten* his words.

He doens't say war. He says Waaaarrrr.

He simply needs to stop dragging out his speech. I think he can do it rather easilly ;)

[spooky3]

24. I think that's a good suggestion, but there's more he can change.

He raises his voice at the "wrong" times; he should listen to his speeches and ask if that is how he would have spoken if he were sitting across the table at dinner with a good friend. He lectures people, but instead should try to speak conversationally.

[mzmolly]

26. Interesting thought. I hadn't thought of that, very good point!

;)

[surfermaw]

21. Born in one southern state living in another

My take on the subject is, Kerry sounds presidential to me and frankly I think the people in the south will love his style. He just needs to be sure he is not dull and keep it up beat. My little grandson who is a southerner was playing on the computer (7 Years old) he said Bring it on , just as Kerry did...suprised me as to how much like Kerry he sounded. He definately had gotten his attention.

[mzmolly]

2. LOL... I hear ya. Kerry has some great things to say, but I find myself

falling asleep, much like a child in church.

Hey, I'm from the Midwest, what can I say :P

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. nah...I prefer his style

Let Clinton be Clinton and let Kerry be Kerry.

Maybe it's just because I'm a Yankee, but I like that my next president will sound like me.

[LisaM]

5. I agree with Magic Rat

I'm tired of the southern accents (especially the FAKE ones, like Bush's.) No offense, it's just time for a change (my boyfriend, whose mother is from North Carolina, loves to hear John Edwards talk because it reminds him of going back there in the summers, but that was the main thing about him I didn't like.) I'm ready for a good Northeastern accent (and I'm from Michigan!)

[Scoopie]

19. But Edwards' accent is fake!

It's waaaayyyyy drawn out. I live less than 200 miles from his birthplace and we don't sound like him, believe me.

And, how can ANYONE be tired of the Southern accent? :)

BTW, I'm glad Kerry dropped that Bostonian accent or he'd never make a dent in the South. As it is, he's running neck and neck with Bush in Tennessee (where we have a governor who's a northern Dem.).

[fujiyama]

28. I was wondering...

what happened to his Boston accent. I myself love the Baahston accent.

Pahk ya caah in Haahvuhd yahd!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

6. It's not about not being himself

IT's that there is a DRONE to it which is hypnotic...it makes his points be missed...you go away.

[Sparkly]

20. I'm with you

I'm from Connecticut, and while I love the Big Dog, it's refreshing to hear a New Englander. Kerry is who he is, and he's been remarkably consistent since his youth, losing only a little of his accent.

The worst thing possible, in my opinion, would be for him to get coached into becoming phony. (Gore would have made a great president, but as a candidate, I see much too much coached-phoniness in him; don't want that to happen to Kerry.)

[patricia92243]

7. I noticed in the newsclips that his little northern accent was more.......

pronounced that it is now. Made me think of JFK,I - remember how he used to say Cuber"?

[JI7]

8. hahha good point, though he is usually better than yesterday

while he is no clinton, i think he was a little more off yesterday than usual. i think it had a lot to do with the entire event being focused on him and how much support everyone was giving him. i think this was the first large event with major democratic party people he gathered with as the assumed nominee of the democratic party. and the support every one of those people gave was really strong and touching. it was pretty emotional, especially clinton. i'm sure it all really got to him.

[hippiechick]

9. There's no passion ...

Even when he tried to be passionate ... it came out IMO flat.

This election is ours on a silver platter, wrapped in a red ribbon, but I fear that Kerry's sharp, cold appearance and mannerisms are going to be a nearly insurmountable obstacle when compared to homey, folksy, Bubba-George.


:hippie:

[laruemtt]

10. i agree. watching him last night,

i couldn't help but feel uh-oh, this looks too much like mondale / dukakis redux....

[yardwork]

11. I'm tired of people complaining about how the candidates pronounce words.

We have an evil crime family destroying the country and people are worried about how Kerry talks. This irritates me.

I think we should give Americans a little more credit. Maybe they will rise to the challenge.

[laruemtt]

12. as far as giving americans credit,

i'm in the mode of "prove to me you have it in you, people." i'd be the happiest person if they prove me wrong.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. They may...but I do think little things CAN mean a lot

It is the job of any public speaker to captivate their audience...I am a die hard Kerry fan and while I didn't MOVE from my TV during Clinton, Gore or Carter....I left and got ice cream during Kerry...

[laruemtt]

14. oh well hey, ice cream

would have to trump even big dog! especially heavenly hash. with chocolate sauce, i say as i eat my huge salad trying to be good for spring....you just HAD to mention ice cream, didn't you!!!!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. It was Denali on waffle pieces with choclate sauce

[laruemtt]

16. you're brutal...

mmm, mmm, mmm, love these carrots and cukes.....

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. Actually carrots taste quite good wth chocolate sauce

[laruemtt]

18. ok. i'm breaking down....

[TankLV]

30. they are really good in a choc. fondue.

Same with cucumbers. Really. I was surprised by all the creative things people brought when we had a fondue party - used thick spaghetti for the "pokers" to save on cleanup, too.

Celery, and other crunchy raw veggies are great dipped in chocolate!

Not denigrate bananas, strawberries, cherries, etc.

[laruemtt]

32. and i thought i'd reached

my epitome of creativity when i put chocolate sauce on tofu... hmmm, how long til lunch?...............

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. Whatever style Kerry adopts

it should be something that is consistent with his true personality. Otherwise it will look phony and will fool no one. There is a way to be New England and yet forceful and approachable, cf. the Kennedys.

(I learned that through experience. Your teaching style has to grow out of your personality, and if you try to put on someone else's teaching style, no matter how successful it is for them, it won't work if it doesn't fit your personality.)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

23. I agree

BTW while watching the dinner last night and hearing the issues addressed, I kept thinking of you for some reason. Did you see it by chance?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

25. Nope

went to see a friend act in a community theater production.

[Adelante]

27. Am I the only one who doesn't care about this?

I love Mario Cuomo and I love Bill Clinton. It means zip where they come from or their respective regional style and culture. I don't understand this whole discussion. I don't mean this particular thread, but any of them.

[rasputin1952]

29. Great Orators are a thing of history I'm afraid...

FDR came close, Churchill was good, but the days of 'in your face' politics is past. Now it is all up to how the cameras and mikes pick you up. *sigh*

I would give almost anything to have heard Lincoln or TR. Tom Paine or Sam Adams; how about Oliver Wendell Holmes or William Jennings Bryant. The days of Grand Speeches is gone, no more language that stirs the soul or shows us how our minds can drift away with the eloquence of the descriptive speech. Passion, what little there is, seems to be manufactured in an ice room.

When I was a kid, I used to practice speeches in front of a mirror. I tried to inflect just the right emotion at the perfect time. there was no thing as a 'pause for laughter or applause'. I KNEW when I hit it right. The Gettysburg Address, I practiced that for hours before I had to present it at school. I tried to step into Lincoln's shoes, what did he feel like after 2 hours of oration from Everett Horton, one of the best orators of the time? Hard act to follow, and how did he feel as he dedicated that cemetery where so many had died on his orders? Elation had to be far from his mind, he had to reach for his soul.

There is the key, reach for your soul, regardless of what the emotions you feel when you speak. When you speak from your soul, you touch others. bush can't do this, he has no soul to speak of, that is why he is so bad when he is placed in a situation where he cannot read prepared remarks.

Kerry lacks passion at this point...but I think he will soon speak from his soul. TV and mikes make this difficult, every nuance is magnified 1000x. But he will find his niche soon, just as bush has found his rut.

O8)

[DemBones DemBones]

31. Or at least listen to some Italian priests!

The key is to be interesting. And remember how short people's atttention spans are today, thanks to commercial television.

I suspect that most Americans today don't like speeches that sound like speeches. I think television has so influenced people that they expect only soundbites -- and you'd better seem humble, self-effacing, even bumbling, rather than competent and well-educated. There's a real "Moron Vote" out there that laps up Bush's little act.