# Anyone listening to Bush's speech? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043 "2003-10-28T16:14:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/1 "2003-10-28T16:14:14Z")
As I type, I am listening to a radio airing of Bush delivering a Rose Garden speech. He has often been portrayed as a poor speaker, but this delivery strikes me as surprising. He sounds as tho he is reading a laundry list at gunpoint. He has hit judicial nominees, the economy, Iraq, … Anyone else hear this speech, and think it sounded odd? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/2 "2003-10-28T16:20:34Z")
**"Suiciders"?** I’ve just learned a new word. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/3 "2003-10-28T16:22:29Z")
I’m listening. He’s very defensive against the reporters and has never been a very good speaker, as you mentioned. The most annoying thing to me is the way he begins almost ever answer with “Yeah. . .”. I’m a GWB fan, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/4 "2003-10-28T16:24:30Z")
I personally have never been a Bush fan. But I was alerted to this talk by my best buddy at work, who is. Anyone else get the idea Iraq is “a dangerous place”? ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/5 "2003-10-28T16:26:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\ ***“Suiciders”?** I’ve just learned a new word. 😛 \*\* Duh: Sui: A Chinese dynasty (581-618) that reunified China after a period of declining centralized government. ci·der n. The juice pressed from fruits, especially apples, used as a beverage or to make other products, such as vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/6 "2003-10-28T16:34:23Z")
There we have it. Not an imminent threat, but “a gathering threat.” ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/7 "2003-10-28T16:36:44Z")
This was a really bad move on someone’s part - he sounds defensive, ill-prepared, and as if he’s merely working from rote. Never what you could call an inspiring or charismatic speaker to begin with, he sounds even worse today. Tired, disjointed, and as if he’d absolutely rather be anywhere else than where he is. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/8 "2003-10-28T16:40:07Z")
My Repub buddy says he hopes Bush is feeling under the weather. To explain his performance. ---
**Author:** ![dragongirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/9 "2003-10-28T17:39:09Z")
I was thinking he seemed sick. It was painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/10 "2003-10-28T19:27:02Z")
Because my class was canceled today, I came home and realized it was on - I came in just before he began taking questions, so I did not see the full speech. I am not a Bush fan, but I was frustrated by the way he reacted to the reporters. I felt like he constantly interrupted them before they even got to the end of their question (I don’t see many press conferences, so I don’t know if this is usual), and then when he answered he was defensive or evasive. I felt like they were the same answers I’d heard in response to questions on other days, or phrases pulled from earlier speeches. Nothing that I was too impressed with. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/11 "2003-10-28T20:01:39Z")
He must have seen his latest poll numbers. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/12 "2003-10-28T23:18:50Z")
I heard the speech, and as much of the Q&A as I could bear. It’s been a cold, gray, wet day here, but hearing Mr. Bush got me motivated. I made a political contribution, but I still needed to hit something. I went out in the rain to split firewood. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/13 "2003-10-28T23:44:02Z")
I just caught the question and evasive answer session. No matter what the question, he was able to work the word “terrorist” into the answer. I am not a Bush fan, to put it mildly…but his public speaking skills are truly next to zero. He drones on and on so damn slowly that by the time he reaches a verb, I have forgotten what the hell the question was. ---
**Author:** ![Phnord\_Prephect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Phnord\_Prephect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phnord_Prephect)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/14 "2003-10-29T02:46:53Z")
Did anybody else notice the COMPLETE lack of applause when the speech was over? Isn’t it traditional now to applaud everything the president does, no matter how mundane? That’s how I remember previous speeches over the years… LOTS of pauses while everybody applauds every little thing. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/15 "2003-10-29T03:40:28Z")
> [@](#): > > LOTS of pauses while everybody applauds every little thing. That’s when he’s addressing congress or the UN. In my opinion, it should be Bush applauding the media every time they ask him a question. He could barely handle the wiffleballs they were lobbing at him this morning, he must wake up screaming when he has dreams about what might happen if the press actually asked him some tough questions and insisted on actual answers instead of fevered rambling. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/16 "2003-10-29T17:20:38Z")
Anyone know how to e-mail a copy of this thread to Karl Rove? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/17 "2003-10-29T22:32:11Z")
I think Bush has gotten a lot better at speaking since he’s become President. I remember back during the debates, he would pause every other word. Nowadays he seems to be able to get out a few sentences at a time pretty easily. > [@](#): > > I am not a Bush fan, but I was frustrated by the way he reacted to the reporters. I felt like he constantly interrupted them before they even got to the end of their question (I don’t see many press conferences, so I don’t know if this is usual), and then when he answered he was defensive or evasive. I felt like they were the same answers I’d heard in response to questions on other days, or phrases pulled from earlier speeches. He does this all the time. He tries to have a more jovial relationship with the press corps then other presidents, interrupting reporters to have a “conversation” instead of a pure Q&A format. Personally, I think he comes off as a jackass when he does it. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-listening-to-bushs-speech/210043/18 "2003-10-30T00:58:39Z")
I still think his natural inclination must have been to speak too fast, and speech trainers got him to slow down. He took it too much to heart. All the elaborate … pauses … between every few words … have the effect of trivializing any really significant point he does make, because he totally lacks a “meaningful pause” in his speech repertoire.