Union of Words: A History of Presidential Eloquence, by Wayne Fields (Free Press, 406 pp., $25)
WHEN President Clinton asserted that “the era of big government is over,” he was not only playing politics—appearing to spearhead a popular movement he reflexively rejects—he was also trying to solidify a national consensus. We Americans revere whatever makes for unity of purpose and identity. So this book is aptly titled, describing as it does one means of cementing that union. The book is divided topically, covering announcements of candidacy, nomination acceptances, inaugurals, farewells. Fields recognizes these presidential speeches not only as political tools, but also as literary creations, and his examination of the interactions between these two aspects of speechmaking contributes much to our understanding of past times when splendidly phrased speeches were not considered incompatible with leading a varied nation. In his farewell to the country, Washington asked forgiveness for “the faults of incompetent abilities [that] will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest,” which compares well to Reagan’s “My friends, we did it; all in all, not bad. Not bad at all. And so goodbye.” Vastly different in style, both passages belong now to ages of their own, and have in fact adorned history itself. —Tracy Lee Simmons
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