Think this President was slightly smarter than George W.?

[Faygo Kid]

Lots of Lincoln stuff popping up today on DU, so let's compare one of his speeches (no speechwriters then) with George W.'s "Bring 'em on." Then, visit the Lincoln Bicentennial website and order a free poster (it's really nice, and really is free; www. lincolnbicentennial.gov). Anyway, to remember that we have done better, here's the conclusion to Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. Worth a moment of your time:
"Fondly do we hope - fervently do we pray - that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn by the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, 'The judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.'
"With malice toward none; with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

[Sandpiper]

1. And Lincoln wrote his own speeches

He didn't employ a team of speech writers.

[disgruntled_goat]

6. fascists

imo, * needs a big team of speechwriters because his intent is not to inspire or relay knowledge, but to legally define just how much lies and half-truths they can themselves spew without giving any significant ground to their victims.

bastards. i hate them.

[NNadir]

2. Let us not forget the classic funereal oratory that defined the United

States, "The Gettysburg Address."

I believe every American should read Gary Will's "Lincoln At Gettysburg," to understand how deeply rendered was that speech about sacrifice and loss.

You will grieve when you read that work and ponder how far exactly the office of the Presidency has fallen and how utterly unworthy is that clown who presumed himself to occupy it.

[teach1st]

3. Comparing a Bush speech to a Gore speech...

I originally http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=209343#209503">posted this at DU on 11/9/03. Your post reminded me of it.

..for readability level (a rough test, which anyone can do using a word processor grammar checker):

I omitted the first few opening and the last paragraph of each speech:

I used the "President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended" speech to compare to the Gore speech, "Freedom and Securty," given on November 9, 2003, because in my limited reading, it was the most complex speech I could remember Bush giving - I could easily be wrong there.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/iraq/20030501-15.html
http://www.moveon.org/gore/speech2.html

* The Bush speech is rated at approximately at a 9.5th grade reading level.
* The Gore speech is rated at approximately at a 15th grade reading level.

Gore's sentence complexity was rated twice as high and vocabulary complexity was higher, too.

By the way, the higher level writing is not necessarily a good thing for the Gore speech and for Gore. Although listening comprehension is usually higher than readng comprehension, it is still possible that a substantial number of Americans may not fully comprehend the Gore speech.

(One interesting note - the Bush speech most closely resembles an 1040EZ form in complexity when compared against standard documents. Except for vocabulary complexity, the Gore speech compares to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.)

[rwenos]

4. Yes, But . . .

Lincoln was President during an age when oratory and intellectual attainment were respected, not scorned.

It really hasn't been so long since America expected its leaders to have a brain, and speak intelligently. About Kennedy no one can question the intellectual flavor. But, surprisingly, Dwight Eisenhower's "military industrial complex" speech sounds like a college professor giving a lecture:

"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

Just imagine what Sean Hannity or Fox News would do with THAT, coming from a Democratic president!

[DoctorWeird]

5. Preach on!

How dare the Republicans use Lincoln as their posterchild. This Republican party is nothing like the party of Lincoln and even that party only elected Lincoln because he was smart enough to present himself as a simple country bumpkin when he was in actuality an incredibly intelligent man. They thought they could manipulate him and he let them think that until he was elected. Then they tried to halt his anti-slavery actions.