Two Speeches

New Yorker by Jeffrey Toobin | May. 26, 2009 (Opinion)

It’s tempting to see last week’s speech-making duel between Barack Obama and Dick Cheney as a mismatch, with the eloquence of the admired incumbent set against the snarl of the discredited predecessor. Certainly, there was no contest in terms of political stagecraft. Obama appeared in the hushed rotunda of the National Archives, in front of the documents that embody the highest aspirations of American government, while Cheney found a secure location at ... Full Story »

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3.5

by Vincent Caminiti - May. 26, 2009

Toobin's commentary is not distinguishable in any particular way from a the majority of Americans regarding last week's odd speech match-up - with one exception - he actually compared, in a short piece, the content of the speeches. Most other opinion pieces seemed to be cathartics while Toobin appeared to comment on facts instead of feelings - including the fact that Americans are going to need a lot more persuading with facts in order to neutralize the damage of fiction.

Toobin pointed out the painfully obvious in a pleasant read but chose not to characterize the Obama team as slightly inept in working with Congress on this subject. Democrats didn't flee - they neutralized the Republican attack machine being wound up by Mitch McConnell and they did with the subtlety of a fire-sprinkler system. On the other hand, it wasn't particularly germane to the premise of examining the speeches so there are no points off.

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