presidential

Stole this button from my friend Emily. Cause that’s what friends are for. Check out what she did with it. I’m proud to have friends who do such noble work.

My focus for this blog is learning and creativity. I’ve never planned to discuss politics here. But listening to our next president’s acceptance speech the other night brought to mind some past conversations with my kids.

A few years ago, when we studied the Civil War era, we read speeches and quotes by Lincoln. Oh, I thought then, to have a president who could speak with such wisdom and eloquence! It seemed like something from a bygone time. The kids and I talked about this.

Listening to Obama speak, I remembered our conversations. We’ve elected a president who can move people with his words. He may not be another Abraham Lincoln, but can you listen to him without being stirred? After his speech, as the newscasters yammered on, some talked about his gifts as an orator. They said that in a time of soundbites, he is “bringing back the spoken word”.

Can I tell you how much that excites me?

The history-making reasons for Obama’s election move my heart. But the fact that we’ll have a president who can speak with eloquence thrills my mind. I’m delighted that we’ve elected a president who seems so, well, presidential.

For fellow word-lovers, check out this short yet inspiring post on the power of words in this election.

6 comments… add one
  • susan Nov 7, 2008 @ 11:07

    I loved the sat, walked, ran, fly thing you linked to. Brought a tear to my eye.
    I’ll add a cheer for stirring rhetoric.

  • stefaneener Nov 7, 2008 @ 11:09

    No kidding — eloquence back in style thrills me to the core.

    After feeling like intelligence itself was under assault, under suspicion, for so long, with the muzzling of scientists and the valorization of personability over cultivation, I truly think it’s a new approach, and one that I am excited about.

  • Emily Nov 7, 2008 @ 13:29

    Viva la spoken word. Viva eloquence. And you may steal from me any time. 🙂

  • suzee Nov 7, 2008 @ 19:37

    I agree! I cheered and clapped (while driving, even!) at the end of the press conference today. Why? Not the ideas (although the puppy stuff was nice). He used complete sentences! He thought before he spoke! And even off the cuff, he sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

    It was GREAT.

    I don’t think he is Lincoln or Roosevelt or Kennedy. I think he’s Obama, and that may be even better, at least for our times. He will not be perfect, but I think he has given many of us reason to look positively toward the future. Perhaps to a time when we ALL speak in complete sentences!

  • Lynnie Nov 11, 2008 @ 3:15

    You’ve probably already done this, but I went on YouTube and let my kids listen to some of Obama’s old speeches. There are some great earlier ones. I know at their ages (3,4) they’re not really processing the content, but Obama is, like you said, an eloquent speaker and that goes a long way!

  • patricia Nov 11, 2008 @ 23:43

    Listening to Obama’s previous speeches is a great idea, Lynnie. After he was elected, I read snippets of the speech he gave at the Democratic Convention in 2004, but it would be more fun to watch it. Especially knowing where he ended up!

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