Friday, June 15, 2012

Obama, Wintour And The Speech: Out Of Touch!

President Obama ensconced himself in a posh Manhattan townhouse last night to tell a group of the glitterati including Anna Wintour, Meryl Streep and Sarah Jessica Parker the following: "You are the tie-breakers. You are the ultimate arbiters of which direction the country goes."
Imagine . . . Wintour and Parker and Streep and their entourage determine which direction our country goes.
That must be news to most ordinary Americans.
Maybe Obama's muse Valerie Jarrett sees this uber-liberal posse as "tie breakers" but I doubt that the rest of America sees it this way. I know I don't.
Obama's world is centered in Hollywood, New York, Martha's Vineyard, Georgetown and (sometimes) Chicago.
But these places are not where America lives. This is not the heartbeat of America.
No, these places are often the home of the smug and the disdainful,
The president is hopelessly out of touch.
Small wonder then that big time liberal Democrat Bob Bechel said it's time for the president to "lose the British lady with the mink." He was of course speaking of Wintour who was reportedly the inspiration for the book and the movie (and the title) The Devil Wears Prada.
Wintour is said to be so aloof, so intimidating, so nasty, so self-important that her own co-workers are reportedly told not to speak to hear, look at her or even recognize her until she recognizes them first (if she so deigns).
Somebody forgot to tell Wintour she's not the Queen.
As for Parker, she became famous for starring in a vacuous TV series about shoe-obsessed, materialistic, promiscuous women who could never figure out what they wanted out of life or where they were going. She has in fact contributed mightily to the objectification of women.
Earlier, Obama delivered a 54-minute speech in Ohio that was so groundless and whiney that more than a few in the audience actually dozed off while the president droned on.
The speech was so bad that even liberal columnists Jonathan Alter admitted that it was one of the worst speeches he ever heard Obama deliver.
As a lifelong speechwriter, public relations practitioner and public speaking coach and teacher I can tell you that a 54 minute speech is about three-and-a-half times longer than it needs to be. Doesn't matter who's delivering it. In 2012, that's too damned long.
But Obama's speech wasn't even new or engaging or thought-provoking or insightful.
In fact, it was just a bunch of recycled stuff from previous speeches.
The Great Orator certainly seems to have lost his touch.



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