What's wrong with a great speech anyway?

Hillary fosters illusion that Obama is just a lot of talk

When you hear certain people say, "Barack Obama's a great speaker," you can already hear the "but . . . " that's sure to to follow.

As in, "Obama's a great speaker, but he's not saying anything of substance."

Or, "He's a great speaker, but what are his policies?"

And, "He's a great speaker, but we don't need a great speaker running this country, we need a great leader!"

As if those qualities are mutually exclusive.

It's almost as if Barack's undeniable skills as an orator are being turned into a negative -- as if being an inspiring speaker somehow diminishes one's gravitas, to use an overused term.

The Hillary Clinton campaign is certainly encouraging this line of thought. In one of the most cynical (and utterly inaccurate) campaign statements of this or any other century, Sen. Clinton has on numerous occasions said of Obama:

"I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. Sen. John McCain has a lifetime of experience that he'd bring to the White House. And Sen. Obama has a speech he gave in 2002."

Thus erasing any doubt that this woman will say or do just about anything to get elected.

Then there was the Clinton campaign stop in Rhode Island in February. Sarcasm dripping like acid from each and every word, Hillary mocked the optimism of Obama and his followers:

"Now I could stand here and say, let's just get everybody together, let's get unified -- the sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing, and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect! Maybe I've just lived a little long, but I have no illusions about how hard this is going to be. You are not going to wave a magic wand . . . "

Great. If you can't talk about dreams and visions when you're running for president, when CAN you be optimistic?

Consider for a moment one of the most quoted addresses of all time: the Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Consider these excerpts:

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed . . .

And when this happens . . . we . . . will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Good thing that King wasn't running for office against someone with Hillary's cynicism. She'd be rolling her eyes at the speech and saying, "I guess all we have to do is dream and the heavens will open, and celestial choirs will sing, and all our problems will be solved."

It's such a silly notion: "He's a great speaker, but . . . "

How about, "He's a great speaker, AND . . .

As in, "He's a great speaker, and his vision of the future is inspiring."

Or, "He's a great speaker, and he's got some great ideas."

And, "He's a great speaker, and it's amazing to see how he has galvanized so many people . . . "

Isn't it often the case that talented speakers are indeed powerful leaders? From Lincoln to FDR, from Churchill to JFK, from Robert F. Kennedy to Martin Luther King -- their words could bring chills, their actions were historic.

Of course, one can also cite examples of monstrous dictators who knew how to work a speech. Men who were evil, weak and terrible by anyone's definition, yet talented at the podium. We know this.

Still, if you're compiling a list of the greatest speakers ever, that list would be dominated by great men and women.

Who's the most quoted public speaker of all time? Jesus Christ, maybe?

Understand, I'm not even kiddingly comparing Obama to any sort of Messiah. I'll leave that to some of my breathless liberal colleagues. I'm just saying that given the choice between someone who can inspire multitudes with his words or someone who rolls her eyes and makes fun of the new kid with the big ideas, I'll take the great speaker.

No ifs, ands or "buts" about it.