President Bush's Speech

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-09-15 02:45am

Stormbringer wrote:
Dahak wrote:I yet have to be convinced otherwise...
Meh. I know you made up your mind a long time ago. I didn't expect to change it.

I'm just pointing out that public speeking is not the best nor only way of measuring a person's intelligence. I'd bet half the people on this board would stammer like idiots if forced to give speeches to audiences a fraction of the size of Bush's.

He has had more than enough time to get over that.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2003-09-15 09:31am

Stormbringer wrote:
Dahak wrote:I yet have to be convinced otherwise...
Meh. I know you made up your mind a long time ago. I didn't expect to change it.

I'm just pointing out that public speeking is not the best nor only way of measuring a person's intelligence. I'd bet half the people on this board would stammer like idiots if forced to give speeches to audiences a fraction of the size of Bush's.

True.
But then *I* don't have to . He does. That he isn't able to, is telling...

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2003-09-15 10:19am

Stormbringer wrote:Meh. I know you made up your mind a long time ago. I didn't expect to change it.

I'm just pointing out that public speeking is not the best nor only way of measuring a person's intelligence. I'd bet half the people on this board would stammer like idiots if forced to give speeches to audiences a fraction of the size of Bush's.

Actually, not stammering in front of a large crowd is farly easy, even if you are a bit nervous. There are tricks and tips for public speaking, for instance, when you are reading an address to the crowd, pick a person in the audience and focus on them like you are reading the address to them, then shift to another and another. No one who knows a few off-hand rules and, more importantly, confidence and proper diction should have trouble speaking to a crowd. It's not a good sign when a politician can't address a crowd without a teleprompter. Just about any politician worth his salt has the best speech coach they can buy, and there is no excuse for not being able to speak publicly when you have those sorts of coachs, with two exceptions; the people who are really inconfident or incredible inability to speak properly. Professional speech coaches normally can fix those problems fairly easily, which leads me to question Bush himself.

Also, keep in mind that is should be easier for Bush. After all, in public addresses that higher up politicians give, the audience cuts in with applause every time they finish a sentence, practically, which is perfect for glancing down quickly for your next line. Having a speech that pauses for five seconds while the audience cheers every few lines is ideal. At sort of pace, he should never have any troubles.

Strate_Egg · Post by **Strate_Egg** » 2003-09-15 11:53am

tis a sad day when the President of the world's most powerful nation need only demonstrate average abilities, or average test scores in order to be worthy of the office. And people actually defend him on this basis! "Well, he had average test scores, so he's not a moron ..." Is that really all you ask of a fucking leader? That he scores around the middle of the class, thus qualifying him to be a future bus driver?

The average person is a moron!

Well then.
A: You dont have to worry about American Poliitics. Just worry bout the Canadian ones.
B: Average isn't bad unless you are professing to be a genius that needs a god-like pharaoh to lead. Most people are average because they are AVERAGE. Look in Brave New World to see what happens to a society that is run by the Elite.
C: Populism gone wrong? Now that is a contradiction, for bush is anything but a poor commoner. If anything, he is just the opposite..

Populism: A political philosophy supporting the rights and power of the people in their struggle against the privileged elite.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2003-09-15 11:56am

Strate_Egg wrote:tis a sad day when the President of the world's most powerful nation need only demonstrate average abilities, or average test scores in order to be worthy of the office. And people actually defend him on this basis! "Well, he had average test scores, so he's not a moron ..." Is that really all you ask of a fucking leader? That he scores around the middle of the class, thus qualifying him to be a future bus driver?

The average person is a moron!

Well then.
A: You dont have to worry about American Poliitics. Just worry bout the Canadian ones.

Hey retard, you aware that you live in a world bigger than one nation, right? You are aware one nation's choices effect other ones, right? Or are you not up to the fifth grade yet?

B: Average isn't bad unless you are professing to be a genius that needs a god-like pharaoh to lead. Most people are average because they are AVERAGE. Look in Brave New World to see what happens to a society that is run by the Elite.

Yes, I would like a godlike being as my leader. He would be supersmart so he'd make the right decisions, for one thing. You, unfortunately, are a retard, because you think referencing a work of fiction is an accurate view of the future. Plato's The Republic is better proof by any standards.

C: Populism gone wrong? Now that is a contradiction, for bush is anything but a poor commoner. If anything, he is just the opposite..

But he won by appealing to the fact he's painfully average in mental abilities. This is what's called a bad thing. Average people are not too smart.

Populism: A political philosophy supporting the rights and power of the people in their struggle against the privileged elite.

Yea, those horrible smart people! They're just terrible! How dare they become smart!

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2003-09-15 04:36pm

Edi wrote: We've got one member of parliament here who is an ex pro-wrestler (Tony "The Viking" Halme) and generally nowhere near the brightest bulb in the box, prone to making rash statements and embarrassing himself in public, and he is still lightyears ahead of Bush in public speaking skills.

Is that the same guy that wrestled under the name Ludvig Borgia in America? I read something about him getting elected to a government position in Finland a while back.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-09-15 06:04pm

Darth Wong wrote:'tis a sad day when the President of the world's most powerful nation need only demonstrate average abilities, or average test scores in order to be worthy of the office. And people actually defend him on this basis! "Well, he had average test scores, so he's not a moron ..." Is that really all you ask of a fucking leader? That he scores around the middle of the class, thus qualifying him to be a future bus driver?

I wouldn't quite say he scored average. He was in the 80th percentile for test scores, and did do fairly well at the Ivy League (don't know exact grades, but he was in the B average region). He did manage to make a profit off his businesses, though there is some evidence it was due to illegal insider trading. However, politically he is an inexperienced buffoon with no talent or skill.

George Bush's popularity is a symptom of populism run amok. Rather than elect our best and brightest, we prefer people who seem "ordinary". Egads, I'd hate to be led by someone who seems smarter than the average bus driver!

It's a symptom of the overall acceptance of mediocrity and lack of initiative of the American people. Rather than investigate on their own, they accepted the media's portrayal of Bush as a somewhat bumbling man who would be a great leader. Instead we got an idiot with a knack for pissing people off, getting the US embroiled in war, and ruining economies.

Post by **Edi** » 2003-09-16 02:12am

Andrew J. wrote:
Edi wrote: We've got one member of parliament here who is an ex pro-wrestler (Tony "The Viking" Halme) and generally nowhere near the brightest bulb in the box, prone to making rash statements and embarrassing himself in public, and he is still lightyears ahead of Bush in public speaking skills.
Is that the same guy that wrestled under the name Ludvig Borgia in America? I read something about him getting elected to a government position in Finland a while back.

Yeah, that's him. Got into the parliament as representative of a very minor party, but got the biggest single vote count of any MP, iirc. In any case, about a month ago he was hospitalized in critical condition after a shooting in his apartment (he'd been the one firing the gun, nobody got wounded). Apparently he'd been heavily drunk and possibly under amphetamine influence, and the incident is currently under police investigation. Still, I have to hand it to the guy that as soon as he got out of hospital (he was in near-coma for a couple of weeks), he went back to work as much as he could and publicly apologized for some of his behavior and said that the police and courts will do their jobs and then we'll see what happens. He might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but credit where credit is due even though I don't much like him.

Edi