The greatest speechifier in history bombed in Great Britain on Wednesday. Barack Obama may have quoted Winston Churchill, but his stolid speech in Westminster Hall didn’t inspire any comparisons to the great British Prime Minister.
The Telegraph UK tells the tale of Obama without his Teleprompter:
The pictures were better than the words…
…Perhaps Mr Obama was smothered also by his audience, which remained stubbornly unresponsive. For most of the time the President had nothing to bounce off: no applause and certainly no shouts of praise or blame as might be heard in an American church or at an American political rally.
The presidential text sounded as if it had been worked on so hard and conscientiously by a vast team of helpers that it had lost all savour, and been reduced to a series of orotund banalities, of the sort which can be heard at every tedious Anglo-American conference: “Profound challenges stretch out before us…the time for our leadership is now…Our alliance will remain indispensable.”
It did not help to hear Mr Obama assert, after only a minute or two, that “fortunately it’s been smooth sailing” between Britain and the United States “ever since” 1812, when we burned down the White House. Everyone present will have been able to think of occasions when this was not so. Suez did not seem like plain sailing.
We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to our British cousins. We Americans have learned first hand that tales of Barack Obama’s oration skills were greatly exaggerated. We should have warned you.
Our bad.
Perhaps President Obama could pick up a few tips listening to one of history’s greatest speakers.
Source: Telegraph UK
This post was last modified on January 26, 2021
View Comments (63)
Ok, let's clear this misunderstanding up right now.
Lissen up, Brit scribblers - If THE ONE says it, it MUST be true!
Otherwise, you're all dumb racists.
Ok, let’s clear this misunderstanding up right now.
Lissen up, Brit scribblers – If THE ONE says it, it MUST be true!
Otherwise, you’re all dumb racists.
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Except that the Obamaphobe who wrote the comment (including the carefully edited commentary from the Telegraph) isn't a "Brit scribbler," but an American right wing hack.
If he were interested in the truth, he would have included the entire Telegraph commentary, much of which was complimentary to Obama.
And, by the way, no one said it was "racist" not to believe everything you hear. Granted, it's profoundly stupid to swallow every negative blurb you hear about Obama and reject every positive one, but I'm not sure why you found it necessary to (what's that buzzword you far righters are so fond of?) "play the race card" over it.
Maybe it was just the easiest way you could think of to play victim?
Maybe he should just bow and then quit while he's still ahead...
I got ya two one-liners about that:
"...but he wasn't done listening to himself speak!"
"...can't. Has fifteen minutes left on the iPod."
Take your pick.
Hafta go with #2 as that at least limits him to 15 minutes. With #1, there is no end in sight....
true...
Obama met Churchill at a party. Churchill was quite drunk. Obama said "You sir are drunk." Churchill replied "You are correct but you are an arrogant and ignorant ass and tomorrow I will be sober."
Sounds like the British press didnt get the memo from the US press. No bashing barry, he's the best of all times. Good for them for calling bull shit.
Am I wrong or he hasn't said anything about the disasters at home? Maybe say he is praying for the victims? Has anyone heard anything like that?
Yeah KQ, after Netanyahu mentioned the Missouri tornadoes at the joint conference, dear leader stated that he might be able to grace them with his presence within a week. Such a kind and caring leader.
As far as I know, he never really acknowledged the terrible flooding in Tn. last spring. I could be wrong about that, but I never heard of it, and if it did happen it was after they had time to recover pretty much.
Yeah KQ, after Netanyahu mentioned the Missouri tornadoes at the joint conference, dear leader stated that he might be able to grace them with his presence within a week. Such a kind and caring leader.
As far as I know, he never really acknowledged the terrible flooding in Tn. last spring. I could be wrong about that, but I never heard of it, and if it did happen it was after they had time to recover pretty much.
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Well, duh. You never heard of it because you depend on an Obamaphobic right wing gossip network for your news about the White House, not because it didn't happen. The sources YOU listen to (which, judging from your false claim, would be Sean Hannity, Erick Erickson and Rush Limbaugh) would much rather raise a stink about Obama's speech being interrupted by musicians (and then blaming it on him) than admit that he cares about what's going on in his country. Can't risk destroying their carefully cultivated image of him as "uppity," can they? :D
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/14650180/2011/05/16/obama-to-meet-with-tennessee-flood-victims
http://mediamatters.org/print/research/201006070040
I'm still wondering how in the world it helps the recovery from a disaster to have the President show up in person. It seems to me like the whole circus would just serve to get in the way of all the hard work that needs to be done.
Nice. So it took the concern of a foreign leader to prompt our dear leader to say something about the welfare of the people whom he is supposed to lead. THEN he preferred to go to Ireland and England and the summit instead of visiting the area first or something. How nice. I remember when Bush got hated on for flying over Katrina hit Louisana, yet he actually cared to do what he could before it hit and after it hit. Clinton actually seemed to care for people when stuff happened too. I mean for real does Obama CARE for us? I don't think so.
he said something about it in London a few days back
btw inclusion of Churchill's words always welcome.. i can listen to this over and over
Yeah, that Churchill guy. He must have had a really good set of teleprompters to be able to speak the way he did.
he did sound like he was hittin the sauce a bit, though.. admirable
Yes, but in the mornings, he was sober.
Now I have to clean Mountain Dew out of my keyboard again.
While Bozo Obummer is emarrassing us in England tornados are wreaking havoc in our country. The Mississippi is flexing its muscles and tens of thousands now have to find someplace else to live and try to earn a living.
I want to know who is really leading our country. Puppets do not work until someone pulls the strings, or sticks their hand in the sock, so who is making Obama dance? We have serious problems in our country and where is our elected leader? On the wrong side of the big pond, making a fool of himself and, by association, us.
I want to know who is really leading our country. Puppets do not work until someone pulls the strings, or sticks their hand in the sock, so who is making Obama dance? We have serious problems in our country and where is our elected leader? On the wrong side of the big pond, making a fool of himself and, by association, us.
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What is it that you want him to do about the Mississippi River that he isn't already doing?
(P.S. Obama isn't making a fool of you. You and your fellow Obamaphobes are doing a bang-up job of that, right here, all by yourselves.)
Let's see here. He could have been touring, and talking to everyone on the ground, in these devastated areas. He could have been urging Congress to approve emergency funds to help the displaced families on the Mississippi river and those left homeless by the tornados in the midwest.
That $20 billion he wants to give to middle eastern countries? Wouldn't it be better spent at home instead? And, isn't this lack of response from the White House after Katrina hit the gulf coast the reason you liberals tried to beat up on George Bush? At least Bush stayed home and tried to get all the various, mostly useless, gooberment agencies to work together to help the people. He didn't run off and hide in England giving boring speeches. He didn't go to Ireland to suck up the suds with the locals. He stayed home and tried to do what he was elected to do, take care of our country.
Let’s see here. He could have been touring, and talking to everyone on the ground, in these devastated areas.
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He did that.
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He could have been urging Congress to approve emergency funds to help the displaced families on the Mississippi river and those left homeless by the tornados in the midwest.
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All done.
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That $20 billion he wants to give to middle eastern countries? Wouldn’t it be better spent at home instead?
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That's Congress's decision to make, not the president's.
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And, isn’t this lack of response from the White House after Katrina hit the gulf coast the reason you liberals tried to beat up on George Bush?
At least Bush stayed home and tried to get all the various, mostly useless, gooberment agencies to work together to help the people.
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Wrong. Bush didn't stay home---he was off on an extended vacation in Crawford at the time. He declared a federal state of emergency; then went off on a round of birthday parties and photo-ops. Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Rice, too, were on vacation, so no one was at home minding the store for several days---even though it was the worst natural disaster in the nation's history.
To be fair, Bush didn't know about the extent of the mess on the Gulf Coast, since he doesn't read or watch the news. It was only after one of his aides provided the information on one of the DVDs that were customarily assembled for Bush, that he found out what most of the rest of the nation already knew. And, by then, hundreds of New Orleans residents were suffering hugely from the combined effects of heat exposure, dehydration, hunger and lack of medical treatment. (Hundreds of others were dead.)
Don't even try to pretend that Obama's state trip to Europe is in any way comparable to Bush dropping the ball in 2005. It's obvious that your feelings are still smarting over the (justifiable) criticism aimed at Bush, and trying to turn the tables by blaming Obama for the same things. But, no matter how badly you want it to, it doesn't fit.
Sorry.
"And, by then, hundreds of New Orleans residents were suffering hugely from the combined effects of heat exposure, dehydration, hunger and lack of medical treatment. (Hundreds of others were dead.)
Good to know that only the NOLA residents counted.
He thinks it is still 2008. He drinks with his pinky extended. He flubs the toast. He gives a sub-par speech...how embarrassing. I should send another letter to the British Embassy and apologize on behalf of all normal Americans.
He thinks it is still 2008. He drinks with his pinky extended. He flubs the toast. He gives a sub-par speech…how embarrassing. I should send another letter to the British Embassy and apologize on behalf of all normal Americans.
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Great idea, if you want the British embassy to conclude that American conservatives are a bunch of ignorant jackasses. Bush already started that job; you might as well finish it. :P
Now, explain to me how Obama "flubbed the toast," when it was the musicians who broke into his speech prematurely. Are you now going to claim that Obama arranged with them to interrupt the toast, in hopes of annoying the Queen? @@
"Now, explain to me how Obama “flubbed the toast,” when it was the musicians who broke into his speech prematurely. Are you now going to claim that Obama arranged with them to interrupt the toast, in hopes of annoying the Queen? @@"
It was explained that the cue for the British National Anthem is always after the words, "Her Majesty, the Queen".
Obama didn't get the memo.
“Now, explain to me how Obama “flubbed the toast,” when it was the musicians who broke into his speech prematurely. Are you now going to claim that Obama arranged with them to interrupt the toast, in hopes of annoying the Queen? @@”
It was explained that the cue for the British National Anthem is always after the words, “Her Majesty, the Queen”.
Obama didn’t get the memo.
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So, if you had to have that explained to you, why would you be trashing Obama for not knowing it?
Because knowing proper protocol is part of his job.
Because knowing proper protocol is part of his job.
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Not necessarily. Presidents don't magically acquire expertise in foreign court protocol when they move into the White House. Buckingham Palace has advisors to instruct visitors on royal protocol----a very necessary practice, since it can be very exacting, even for visitors who know the Queen personally.
Only an idiot would blame a visiting foreign head of state for the musicians accidentally breaking into his speech. You know very well that, if it were Queen Elizabeth attending a state dinner at the White House, and the orchestra started playing before she was done speaking, you'd be b*tching up a storm that Obama, rather than the Queen, had screwed it up.
Nope, sorry. That doesn't hold water. The White House has a protocol department charged with instructing the President on the order of events to ensure these things don't happen. The orchestra didn't break into his toast, he began speaking too soon. His bad, not the orchestra's. And only and idiot would continue to speak as if the orchestra was playing God Save the Queen to accompanny his magnificent toast.
He spoke too soon for what? What was supposed to happen in the intervening timespan? I can see from a simple video search that he's talking for at least 3 minutes before the music cuts into his toast. Everyone is listening politely as he speaks. Its a simple miscue, which i might add, the British are not in the slightest bit concerned about, as are Obama's partisan foes at home, who have all suddenly become experts on all matters of Royal protocol. In fact LOL my relatives found it endearing.. perhaps you should lecture them
You're right, I misremembered the length of time he had been speaking. However, he really should have known the orchestra wasn't playing a soundtrack to his toast - he admitted that's what he thought was happening.
right.. a crescendo as the PM later said, for his Shakespearean climax.. lol, its just kinda funny when i think about it. He looks the goofball a bit.. so did Bush at times.. we all have a laugh and move on.
I kinda think you guys are burying the lead here too.. its one of Obama's characteristic pauses-in-speech which probably led to the miscue
A politician talking too much and too long? Man, that's gotta be news.
hehe the first time i saw the video, i got the impression he was being played off the stage, and he just hastily wrapped it up. Yeah, awkward. But nothing like CAS's contention that he spoke too soon. I still don't understand that point.
This man embarrasses me so much. I know that Bush was embarrassing sometimes but he at least was fun. Obama is not fun he is irritating.
Didn't get the memo? Again? Hey Satch, Routine 7!
"Absolutely not, this is a pretty big government, the United States government. I got a lot of moving parts."
No, the REAL retarded orangutang disaster was when he went on speaking THROUGH THE ANTHEM!!!
The anthem which is, in essence, a PERSONAL salute to HM, who was Sock Puppet's hostess. So it was a grotesque blunder insulting not only the nation , but the person of Her Majesty.
Pettier nations have gone to war over lesser slights.
The anthem which is, in essence, a PERSONAL salute to HM, who was Sock Puppet’s hostess. So it was a grotesque blunder insulting not only the nation , but the person of Her Majesty.
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I think Her Majesty is a bit better qualified than some Obamaphobic keyboard commando in the U.S. to determine what constitutes an actual insult to her person, and what was merely a ceremonial glitch.
So far, she's given no indication that she was offended by the glitch. (If anything, she may have been concerned that a visiting dignitary's speech was prematurely interrupted.) So, if she wasn't upset by it, why are you having such trouble letting it go? You weren't even there. ;)
Is no one aware how conservative the Telegraph is? I didn't hear the speech but don't expect neutrality from this paper either
Not as bad as the daily mail.
I don't have a problem with a professed bias. It's the pretending there is no bias when clearly there is that irritates me.
Overall, the source article was pretty fair. I could tell because my "Barry Sense" -- a sense of profound irritation at sympathetic coverage of Obama -- was grating on my nerves. They were not mocking as we are -- just observing that the audience was clearly not responding to it like they may have in the US, what with there being more shills in the audience here. (my words, not theirs...)
You are correct.. i just read the article and it is not anywhere as damning as the IHTM post characterizes it, and i judged based on my knowledge of the Telegraph's conservative leanings
I like the telegraph -- but to get the total brit new picture, you have to read the official mouthpiece of their government as well. Problem is, the Beeb is harder to take. Daily Mail is funny, though.
I wish this fool would simply stay in D.Sleaze. and stop traveling around embarrassing this country. In the US the press will fawn over him and oooh and ahhh every time he so much as flatulates. Or in Chrissy case, pee his pants while fantasizing.