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Who was our last formal-sounding president?

phattonez

phattonez

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I was stuck listening to an Obama townhall as I was studying for a midterm yesterday, and I couldn't help but notice these guys sound so casual. Obama and Biden don't sound formal at all. And the crowd? It sounded like the audience of American Idol. People screaming?

So I know Bush wasn't exactly Mr. Elegant, was Clinton? When was the last time we had a president that sounded distinguished?
 
phattonez said:
I was stuck listening to an Obama townhall as I was studying for a midterm yesterday, and I couldn't help but notice these guys sound so casual. Obama and Biden don't sound formal at all. And the crowd? It sounded like the audience of American Idol. People screaming?

So I know Bush wasn't exactly Mr. Elegant, was Clinton? When was the last time we had a president that sounded distinguished?
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clinton was a very good speaker, as is obama. both are good at realizing who their audience is and tailoring their speech as required.
 
liblady said:
clinton was a very good speaker, as is obama. both are good at realizing who their audience is and tailoring their speech as required.
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See, I don't know how great of a speaker Obama is. He's not exactly reaching out to everyone. And his words don't draw inspiration. It seems to me like all he has is a good voice.
 
phattonez said:
See, I don't know how great of a speaker Obama is. He's not exactly reaching out to everyone. And his words don't draw inspiration. It seems to me like all he has is a good voice.
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it's kind of tough to inspire when all you've got is bad news, don't you think? anyway, he certainly inspired enough people to vote for him.
 
most of the Presidents have been "formal-sounding". The only exception I think of is President Bush Jr. and that's not because he is informal, but because he is to public speaking as the Jonas Brothers are to rock n' roll.
 
phattonez said:
I was stuck listening to an Obama townhall as I was studying for a midterm yesterday, and I couldn't help but notice these guys sound so casual. Obama and Biden don't sound formal at all. And the crowd? It sounded like the audience of American Idol. People screaming?

So I know Bush wasn't exactly Mr. Elegant, was Clinton? When was the last time we had a president that sounded distinguished?
Click to expand...

I'd say Nixon, although Carter was as formal as a "southerner" can sound. Reagan was formal in speaches but was casual in interviews. Bush41 was the last connection to formality.

I think it has just been overtaken by pop culture. It bothers me a little when the First Lady's Haiti commercial closes with her saying "Thanks a lot" instead of "thank you very much", or "thank you for your help".
 
GHWB was the most recent.
 
Clinton was a very good formal speaker but my favorite was the Great Communicator Ronald Reagan.
 
Regan was the last President I would say to really carry being Presidential Sounding for the majority of his time in Office.

Clinton had his moments, but those were not consistent enough.
 
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