Perhaps you've already heard this clip of President Bush responding to a question about tribal sovereignty, or read a transcript:
Q: What do you think tribal sovereignty means in the twenty-first century, and how do we resolve conflicts between tribes and the federal and state governments?THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yeah. Tribal sovereignty means that - it's sovereign. It's...you're a...you're a...you've been given sovereignty and you're viewed as a sovereign entity.
Q: Okay.
YES, OUR PRESIDENT: And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities.
Come on, people. We can do better than this.
This sounds like a high-school kid trying to fake his way through an essay exam without knowing what any of the vocabulary words mean. One would think that the President of our country has some sort of higher education that was worth the money paid. Apparently that didn't include English courses.
Posted by: Jenn on August 24, 2004 11:57 AMThe ability to be a great public speaker or even an off the cuff speaker is no indication of a person's worth. Many very bad hats throughout history were quite good at communicating and yet evil to the core. I find it very interesting that the very same people who will pontificate about accepting all, regardless of differences, disabilities, etc. are never generous enough to extend that same acceptance to George Bush. I am a teacher of 29 years experience and it is quite evident that the President has a disability of some kind. You reveal more about your character than the President's when you ridicule and denigrate his communication skills.
I voted for Al Gore in 2000, by the way, and have never voted for a Republican for President.
Hi Victoria –
I agree that great public speaking, either prepared or extemporaneous, is not an indicator of a person's worth. However, I do think that it’s reasonable to expect adequate public speaking skills from the person who holds the highest office in this country, and who represents us to the world.
That said, you’ll notice that we do not jump on every malapropism that tumbles from the President’s mouth. When we do address his speech, it is usually because of what it reveals about the way he thinks.
In this entry, our concern was not so much with his speech, but with his failure to respect his audience – and by extension the citizens they represent - by being so obviously uninformed and ill-prepared, and then trying to bluff his way through it.
- Jane
