Obama's Speech

One fact that's hard to refute, regardless of whether you agree with his politics or his opinions, is that President Obama has a comanding presence. Even when addressing school children as young as five years old, the way in which he speaks could hold even my attention -- and I consider myself almost embarrassingly apathetic toward most things involving politics. In his education speech last Tuesday (which I admit to only having just watched) Obama had to choose his words carefully, no matter how natural his diction seemed. His audience was enormous, not only in size, but in variety. It's difficult to relate to people who are much younger than you and also widely spaced in maturity among themselves. The simple act of making this speech impact that large of an audience was a challenge all by itself, and one that Obama handled quite well.

Because his message was such an important one, one that needed to stick in every mind that heard it, loaded phrases are almost a necessity. He used these specifically to invoke certain feelings in his audience. "If you quit on school," he says halfway through the speech, "you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country." His remarks are direct, they're strong, and they're meant to stick with you even after the speech ends. He delivers each word confidently, and it's effective -- if a speaker believes wholly in what he's saying, his audience is more likely to believe what he's saying, too.

Overall, in his fifteen minute address, Obama delivered a message that school children from anywhere in our country could hear, could understand, could relate to, and could be motivated by. His political and personal agenda aside, he crafted his discourse well and hopefully made an impression on all those who listened to it.