John Gaquin wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message news:c6eqc6

Bush was raised in a home where English was spoken properly, attended a
tony prep school, got into Yale as a legacy, was turned down by a
third-rate Texas law school, and then had his way paid into Harvard
business school. Yet when he speaks, he sounds like an idiot.


GW is a terrible public speaker, 'tis true. But, to borrow a line from "The
American President" (a lightweight but enjoyable bit of fluff from 1995),
"Louis, we have had Presidents who were beloved who couldn't find a coherent
sentence with two hands and a flashlight." [possible slight paraphrasing]

The difference is that Kerry started in New England,

Bush started in New England, too. He was born in the same hospital I
was, in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was attending Yale at the time,


GW started
in Texas, and didn't want to lose it.

Nope.


No amount of Prep School time in the
world can remove a dose of Texas that doesn't want to be removed. That's
not good or bad, that's just the way it is.

With or without the Texas, GW would still be a poor public speaker. With or
without the affected Brahmin, Kerry would still be an impressive one.

I don't think Kerry is much of a speaker. He's better than Bush, but,
then, it's hard to think of any politician who isn't. I think Kerry uses
sentences that are far too long and far too lacking in color. I far
preferred Dan'l Patrick Moynihan or Bill Clinton as speakers . Tony
Blair is a great speaker, as are most Brit prime ministers.


It's
an innate skill that is not necessarily relevant. The esteemed Mr. Clinton
has shown us well that a glib and facile tongue do



It's relevant. The "leader" of the free world should not sound the
village idiot, as Bush does.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message

Bush started in New England, too. He was born in the same hospital I
was, in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was attending Yale at the time,

Don't be a simpleton, Harry -- you know better than that. Where you're born
is not always the salient point. Kerry was born in Colorado.

W lived in Texas oil country from the time he was a small boy.

John Gaquin wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message

Bush started in New England, too. He was born in the same hospital I
was, in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was attending Yale at the time,


Don't be a simpleton, Harry -- you know better than that. Where you're born
is not always the salient point. Kerry was born in Colorado.

W lived in Texas oil country from the time he was a small boy.



Are you saying Dubya, from the time he started speaking, has made a
deliberate attempt to sound incoherent? It's certainly not something
endemic to Texas; there are plenty of Texans who speak properly and well.

Maybe he spoke better earlier in life, before the booze and cocaine took
their toll.

John,
In case you haven't noticed, Harry is a simpleton.


"John Gaquin" wrote in message
...

"Harry Krause" wrote in message

Bush started in New England, too. He was born in the same hospital I
was, in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was attending Yale at the
time,

Don't be a simpleton, Harry -- you know better than that. Where you're
born
is not always the salient point. Kerry was born in Colorado.

W lived in Texas oil country from the time he was a small boy.

"John Smith" wrote in message news:zHDic.24423

In case you haven't noticed, Harry is a simpleton.

I know, the only difference between Harry and b'asskisser is that b'ass
hasn't quite picked up this c&p obsession. But I keep hoping. I remember
back in the sixties someone saying "if you teach them, they can learn".

"John Gaquin" wrote in message
...

"Harry Krause" wrote in message

Bush started in New England, too. He was born in the same hospital I
was, in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was attending Yale at the
time,

Don't be a simpleton, Harry -- you know better than that. Where you're
born
is not always the salient point. Kerry was born in Colorado.

W lived in Texas oil country from the time he was a small boy.



Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be using the Texas thing as an
excuse for your leader sounding like a dolt. That's an insult to the rest of
Texas. Are you sure that's what you want to imply?

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message


Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be using the Texas thing as an
excuse for your leader sounding like a dolt. That's an insult to the rest
of
Texas. Are you sure that's what you want to imply?


You're wrong. I'm damn sure of what I want to imply, when I want to imply
anything.

I use "... the Texas thing..." (as you so quaintly put it) as an example
simply of why GW doesn't sound like another New England Prep School Kennedy
clone. You seem to be implying that anyone who doesn't do the Kerry/Kennedy
impersonation sounds like a dolt. Are you sure that's what you want to
imply? :-)

"John Gaquin" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message


Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be using the Texas thing as an
excuse for your leader sounding like a dolt. That's an insult to the
rest
of
Texas. Are you sure that's what you want to imply?


You're wrong. I'm damn sure of what I want to imply, when I want to imply
anything.

I use "... the Texas thing..." (as you so quaintly put it) as an example
simply of why GW doesn't sound like another New England Prep School
Kennedy
clone. You seem to be implying that anyone who doesn't do the
Kerry/Kennedy
impersonation sounds like a dolt. Are you sure that's what you want to
imply? :-)



Regional accents are like regional cuisine and music: Without them, this
would be a pretty boring country. But, we're not talking about accents.
We're talking about two different things. A person from Oklahoma may
pronounce "fence" in a way that sounds as if the word has two syllables, or
like "fancy" without the "y", but it's still a fence. This doesn't make them
illiterate, and it doesn't matter whether they sound like a Kennedy. But,
when a person says "Is our children learning?", or several hundred other
GRAMMATICAL gaffs, it's clear he is not fit for public office. "Most of our
imports come from overseas". Zzzz....

Get it? You're talking about accents, and I'm talking about grammar. If you
are saying that being from Texas excuses a person's hideous grammar, you are
insulting the entire state of Texas.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message

.....You're talking about accents, and I'm talking about grammar.

No, you're missing my point, Doug. You're attributing grammatical or
structural mis-speaks to rank ignorance, but I disagree. I say they
predominantly arise from insecurity and self-consciousness in [mostly]
ex-temp public speaking.

His recent press conference is a case in point. I saw a room full of
professional wordsmiths and stand-up reporters doing their utmost to
embarrass and humiliate the President of the US. These guys are all
building their careers on the ease with which they can make a bad speaker
look uneasy. I think we may be only a short time from the day when some
petty little s#*t like Terry Moran will stand up and say "Mr. President,
don't you think you were a fool to say that......"

When reading a prepared text GW does much better -- still not
"right-at-home", but I don't think it's a major issue. As I've said
elsewhere, we recently had eight years of one of the finest ex-temp speakers
ever to inhabit the WH, thus proving conclusively that the ability to speak
off the cuff does not necessarily bring with it a man of character and
integrity.

Unless you have had occasion to have private, off record conversations with
Mr. Bush, neither of us can resolve this question.

"John Gaquin" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message

.....You're talking about accents, and I'm talking about grammar.

No, you're missing my point, Doug. You're attributing grammatical or
structural mis-speaks to rank ignorance, but I disagree. I say they
predominantly arise from insecurity and self-consciousness in [mostly]
ex-temp public speaking.

Insecurity? Just the sort of guy I want in charge of an arsenal of nuclear
weapons.


His recent press conference is a case in point. I saw a room full of
professional wordsmiths and stand-up reporters doing their utmost to
embarrass and humiliate the President of the US.

Exactly how were they trying to do that to him?


When reading a prepared text GW does much better -- still not
"right-at-home", but I don't think it's a major issue.

I guess I look at it from the standpoint of an employer, so to me, it IS a
major issue.

As I've said
elsewhere, we recently had eight years of one of the finest ex-temp
speakers
ever to inhabit the WH, thus proving conclusively that the ability to
speak
off the cuff does not necessarily bring with it a man of character and
integrity.

I'm not connecting speaking ability with integrity. I'm connecting it (and
now, your "insecurity" suggestion) with competence. If Nookular Boy
considers a press conference to be a challenge, how will he behave when a
general tears into his office to say a half dozen missiles have been
launched toward the U.S. from someplace on the other side of the world?
Remember - missiles from Russia to here, or vice versa, make the trip in
about 20 minutes. Scary thought, with a president who, based on your
diagnosis, didn't even feel secure speaking to a group of elementary school
kids.