Barack Obama's upcoming speech at the Democratic National Convention is--barring the miraculous reanimation of Winston Churchill's corpse, sometime in mid-July, to recite the Sermon on the Mount in twelve different languages--pretty much a lock to be the rhetorical blockbuster event of the summer. Full Story »
Posted by Terry Gamble
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A well-written and insightful analysis of the significance of presidential rhetoric and of Barack Obama's speeches in particular. A good read for those who love language and communication.
As the previous reviewer notes, this is a great read for those of us who are interested in language, rhetoric, and the relationship between linguistic form and substance. Sam Anderson, it should be added, is no chump at writing, himself. One of the chief contentions pressed by Obama's opponents is that "words are cheap," that he is an "elitist," an "empty suit." They presume that a facility with language is incompatible with depth, experience, pragmatism and wisdom. Anderson's article presents an effective argument that the opposite is true.
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