She might not be quite as gifted a public speaker as her husband or President Obama.....

[Tommy_Carcetti]

....but she's still light years ahead of her opponent. I'm listening to her right now versus Trump's "titties for Detroit" speech on Monday, and it's just light and day. No sane person would say they are even equal, let alone claiming Trump is somehow a superior communicator.

She seems to excel better when talking on policy and not just regular stumping.

[lapucelle]

1. Her gift is listening.

[lunamagica]

4. +1 And what a rare, wonderful gift it is.

[Pacifist Patriot]

8. I agree. And a highly undervalued gift it is too.

[spooky3]

10. and thinking, and problem-solving, and working effectively with others...

I could go on and on...

[csziggy]

17. +10000000000000000000 nt

[Mr.Bill]

19. We are born with two ears and one mouth.

They should be used in that ratio.

Intelligent people like Hillary know and practice this.

Trump does not.

[lapucelle]

34. My grandpa used to say

"Take the cotton out of your ears, and put it in your mouth."

[tonyt53]

2. As an engineer, I will take substance over eloquence any day. I don't need window dressing.

[spooky3]

11. I'm not an engineer, and I agree 100%.

[Curtland1015]

3. Saying someone is not as gifted a speaker as President Obama...

...is like saying someone is worse at swimming as Michael Phelps.



But yeah, she has a confidence and knowledge in what she's saying that Trump never will, and you can hear it.

[democrattotheend]

14. LOL, great analogy!

[PJMcK]

28. You win today! (n/t)

[Raine1967]

35. Amen!

excellent point!

[SecularMotion]

36. +1

[cali]

5. Her economic speech is better than her stumping, for sure.

[Hortensis]

6. She's famous for talking policy instead of schmoozing.

Both have their places, of course. Too many Democratic candidates lose election because they speak in complete sentences about complex subjects.

Remember the press's criticisms of just that when Al Gore and John Kerry were running? And they kept it as simple as they felt they could.

[BlueMTexpat]

7. Spot on! eom

[Maru Kitteh]

12. Too many Democratic candidates lose election because they speak in complete sentences

about complex subjects"

so true.

[Hortensis]

37. Or as the press put it, boooring!

[tblue37]

42. Adlai Stephenson lost for that reason. He was reviled as "too smart."

Last edited Fri Aug 12, 2016, 05:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Eisenhower was actually quite smart, but also clever enough to know how to speak in a way that would not intimidate and alienate the public. The general American public has a powerful streak of anti-intellectualism, and our demagogues deliberately stoke that tendency into hatred and suspicion of anyone who seems especiually well-educated or who demonstrates expertise in any difficult subject.

[Hortensis]

44. No one likes a smartypants, but psychologists

are apparently finding that, even more than realized, even when social skills are fine high intelligence repels others and causes, for instance, very intelligent employees to be rejected by coworkers. Bigger problem than realized, we're learning a lot more about it.

In this case, this seems to be more about people resisting feeling less intelligent by comparison than about anti-intellectualism.

Bill Clinton was also often described as "brilliant" by those who knew him, but there was nothing obvious about it on the stump. Probably politicians are going to be practicing "eisenhower" style even more -- even the many who really don't need to.

[fun n serious]

9. I love her wonk talk but I admit

It's not for all Americans, I wish it were.

[etherealtruth]

24. Agreed!

[mcar]

13. That speech was chock full of details

and wonderful liberal ideals. It was very well done. The NPR analysts were really trying hard to find something in it to criticize.

[George II]

15. That was one of her best yet of this or the primary campaign. ALL issues, ALL solutions...

....ALL positive. It was just as effective content-wise as Obama or Bill Clinton.

Toward the very end she went into that high-volume run-on sentence that every politician uses to wrap up their campaign speeches. I hate when Obama or Bill Clinton or any politician does that. But Obama and Bill they pulled it off a little better.

Right, that speech was LIGHT years ahead of anything Trump has ever said.

[MichiganVote]

16. I think Clinton has vastly improved her speaking style.

And while I enjoyed uplifting speeches from Obama, Kennedy, or MLK-I want substance and she delivers.

[FighttheFuture]

18. Trump is a master Manipulator, not communicator. He knows what to say for the crowd and pull

Last edited Thu Aug 11, 2016, 04:36 PM - Edit history (1)

them along. Very dangerous; like many past strongmen and Fascists.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

21. A true master baiter. nt

[etherealtruth]

25. He manipulates a very specific population ...

.... the rest of use, not so much.

He is able to manipulate that specific segment of the population masterfully, though.

[world wide wally]

20. As Duncan Hunter said yesterday, Trump is not very articulated, sohe can't be held responsible

for anything he says.
He said it...not me

[grossproffit]

22. Her forte is debate. She knows just how to get under her opponents skin. I'm getting excited just...

thinking about it. Must calm down.

[Staph]

38. I'm counting the days!

Six weeks and four days until the first debate. Without his goonish followers in house, and with enforced silence by the debate commission, Trump will be forced to rely on his wits . . . I'm sorry -- I just cracked myself up! Trump depending on his wits!

His obvious disdain for women is his other glaring weakness in the debates, and I fully expect Hillary to take full advantage of it. Just having a women stand up to him, disagree with him, eviscerate him with facts (and full and complete sentences!), and he can't interrupt, override, overtalk. He's going to blow a gasket!

And I can't wait!

[nolabear]

23. It was so weird to hear CNN criticize it for being too detailed.

What is WRONG with these people? It's insulting!

[apcalc]

29. Non-intelligent people want one word answers

to complex problems -and the news media thrives on stupidity.

[tblue37]

43. Sound bites and bumper stickers. I wish our people would freaking LISTEN to George Lakoff! nt

[saidsimplesimon]

26. My screen is flashing

probably the rain in the desert. Mrs. Clinton is a lawyer, not a politician, imo.

She is no doubt intellectually superior. Please advise her that tone deaf is a handicap.

[apcalc]

27. She is a policy wonk.

There aren't many people who know more than she does on just about any given topic that affects the nation.
And she's a worker.

[PatSeg]

30. Not everyone is a great orator,

but not every great orator has the experience or skills to govern.

I will say that Hillary is so much better in this campaign than in 2008. She seems more confident and comfortable speaking in public. Also I have a feeling that she has better political advisers than in '08. Perhaps she is listening more to herself than to professional strategists.

I have to say I really like 2016 Hillary a lot better.

[Fast Walker 52]

32. yes, I agree.

[Fast Walker 52]

31. I thought her economic speech sounded really good!

I'm psyched. Feelin' the Hill!

[DemonGoddess]

33. I don't care that she's not a "gifted orator"

I LOVE that she's a wonk! I LIKE details and substance.

[Bill USA]

39. I always thought charisma was over-rated.

[tblue37]

40. I think Hillary is the kind of person who comes across well in personal interactions but less

well before crowds. This is probably why she does all those small group meets and listening tours.

One thing that always struck me is how beloved she is by those who know her best and work most closely with her--and also how deep is the loyalty she evokes.

After leaving the Clinton administration, George Stephanopoulos was interviewed. When asked about Bill, George was measured and mostly positive, but also somewhat critical. When asked about Hillary, he said he would crawl over hot coals for her!

People who evoke that sort if love and loyalty not just from co-workers and colleagues, but also from employees and subordinates of other kinds are usually pretty damned impressive, and usually decent human beings, as well.

That is why despite being an avid Bernie supporter, and despite some concerns about Hillary as a candidate, I never stopped admiring and respecting her. For people like me, it was not at all hard to accept Hillary as our standard bearer (though some of her supporters who keep slyly digging at Bernie and his supporters do still frustrate me a bit).

[tblue37]

41. Although I teach college English, I also tutor in most other subjects at all levels, from K-12,

through college, and beyond.

I frequently coach college students who struggle with their speech class, especially those who are introverted and uncomfortable with public speaking, those who are shy and suffer from social anxiety, and also international students who not only struggle with English, but who also have been conditioned by their own countries' educational culture to NOT speak up in class or push themselves forward in any way.

Whenever I watch Hillary speak, I find myself wishing I were her speech coach. She could be such an effective speaker with appropriate coaching. She has real strengths that are not being effectively exploited in her public speaking.