President Barack Obama’s speech in Selma, Ala., on the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” voting-rights march drew glowing reviews, with some commentators hailing it as the greatest speech of his presidency.
It was certainly a vigorous performance, with some genuinely moving moments. Given that in his first term alone Obama delivered 2,039 speeches or remarks, and continues to add about 500 a year, however, it would be hard for anyone to say which was his best. If that seems like a lot of speechifying, it is — more than a speech a day, far more than even someone with an unnatural interest in Obama’s rhetoric could possibly appreciate. His favorite predecessor, Abraham Lincoln, gave fewer than 20 public speeches a year, most of them short and informal.
Comments