Let's be fair here.

You didn't object when Double-J posted the picture of Hitler and compared him to Patrick.

I remember that....

Ditto MaryCas!

And Don Z. I didn't mind the monkey pictures, the funny stuff. Nothing wrong with anyone poking a bit of fun. But the Nazi picture with the Swat Sticker logo must go. That is over the line. Don't matter to me if Bush is in that picture, or Michael Moore, but using that logo is offensive and disrespectfull.


[/b][/quote]I Apologize
I'm sorry...

Don Z.,

Apology accepted. I do value opinions and questions on our "way of life", and foreign perspectives can be interesting and informative. It's the basic way we live here in the US of A. Please keep your posts of an intelligent nature and we'll all make the world a better place to live.

Peace.

PS. The Bush/Monkey pics are considered political satire, they are kind of funny.

So where's DC?

Patrick DC is about 50 miles south of Baltimore, and just East of Virginia on the Potomac River.

Awesome. Hopefully there's an internet connection there.

I'm bumping this for... DC!

[/b][/quote]Actually I am NORTH of Baltimore and North East of Virginia.


Don Cardi

I see you'd rather not reply to Plaw's comment. That's ok. I shall remember that in the future my friend.

OK enough of your silly comedy...I was watching part of Bush's speech at the UN yesterday and I had this thought about ONE of the reasons that non-Americans may have a negative view of him. It has nothing to do with his views or policies. It's the way he talks.

I may need help from Americans here as I'm not an expert on American accents or intonation but I was thinking, in his attempt to appear ordinary or one of the guys to Americans he speaks in a way which makes him appear an intellectual lightweight to many other native English speakers. Any thoughts??

Actually my young friend, Plaw and I took it off the boards and I replied through a PM. So don't get your yourself all excited about the future just yet.


Don Cardi

Senza, one of Bush's worst traits is probably his inability for Public Speaking when it comes to giving a speach. It has definitely been a weakness for him throughout his service in government.

However there have been times when he's had to address this nation on a moments notice, and it seems that when he has had to speak from the heart, his delivery in those types of addresses have been much better and more natural.


Don Cardi

He won't win any speaking awards. His cadence and delivery bother me. And he has a characteristic that Clinton and Nixon had - they have this phony-looking smile that they interject at seemingly inappropriate times. He also can't pronounce Nuclear.

Yes, but Clinton was an excellent speaker. Public speaking was one of his best traits.

Don Cardi

Every time I watch Bush on TV, I get the feeling that I'm watching someone on Saturday Night Live who's imitating Bush.

It's almost like he's a caricature of himself.

They really should stop showing him walking to/from Marine One. He looks like he has to concentrate "left foot, now right foot, left foot......".

He won't win any speaking awards. His cadence and delivery bother me. And he has a characteristic that Clinton and Nixon had - they have this phony-looking smile that they interject at seemingly inappropriate times. He also can't pronounce Nuclear. [/QB][/quote]Yes I've noticed he sort of 'smirks' at inappropriate times e.g. his first reaction to Katrina when he said (paraphrasing here) "...I'm sure the good people of New Orleans will get their lives back together and America will be stronger "

Carter is smart but not necessarily a good speaker. You could fall asleep listening to him. :p

IMHO two of the best speakers in my lifetime were Clinton & JFK. Both very smart and both very articulate.

Although I was only 12 when JFK was running for President, he was so likeable that I would listen to even his press conferences. Speaking of which, I remember him having a great sense of humor during these conferences and would lighten up any tensions by joking with reporters. In particluar some remark he made to a woman reporter. I wish I could remember what exactly was said, but I think this lady said something like "I have a few problems with....." and JFK said something like, "I'm sure you'll tell me what those problems are" and everyone in the room laughed. Does anyone here know what I am talking about? I know that isn't exact but you get the idea.

TIS

So about Bush's speaking abilities, huh?

Who was the guy who wrote "mass-uh-chew-sits"?

He ain't a great speller either.

TIS,

JFK had a running but kidding around feud with a rather oldish woman reporter for, I think, one of the Wash DC papers.

He would always recognize her at every press conference, and he always responded to her question humorously or with a clever quip.

She wore very large hats, if I remember correctly, and her manner was unintentionally amusing.

Her name escapes me, but I'll see if I can come up with something on Google.

Plaw, I know exactly who you mean. She was rather prominently featured in a film about the presidency, perhaps Dave? Not sure of her name either.

As for President Bush, I think that as Northeasterners, we may have a problem with his style and cadence, as we did with Carter. We have a bias towards people who speak with a drawl, as we, consciously or unconsciously, consider them slow. Many Southerners think that Northerners are rude, even when they aren't, because of our rapid speech patterns.

However, in addition to that, he happens to be a terrible public speaker. President Clinton is a great speaker, and so is his wife.

I'm still Googling. Still can't find anything, though, Madam President.

Was it Helen Thomas? Here's a recent pic of her. I don't know if I can find a pic of her back in JFK's time.

Pretty sure that's her.

That's who I was thinking of too. I looked for older pics of her, but she still looks about the same. I remember she has always had a love/hate relationship with most of the current presidents.

Could be her, but I don't think so. I'd swear she had to be at least in her forties back in the early 1960's.

We'll have to look for Turnbull for this one. He'll remember. Or maybe SC.

Helen Thomas started covering JFK during his campaign and she's mostly famous for ending his press conferences with "Thank you Mr. President".

As an honor to her longetivity she usually gets to ask the first question in press conferences now.

I can't honestly remember if she wore hats, but I do remember she had a good rapport with JFK.