Hmm, I Think Obama is a Great Public Speaker, even if he "Ahhs" at a rate of 25/minute

[SuperTrouper]

I do not hold it against him all the "ahhs" "Umms" that he makes while speaking...I probably say many more "ahhs"...so I don't know why the pissy fit with Caroline saying "Ahhs" and "youknows".
The problem with Caroline's presentation is shyness, not assertive enough and needs a makeover of hair and more makeup (unfair criticism when you look at Peter King's physical appearance which goes unnoticed and not criticized)

[wyldwolf]

1. 25 a minute? You've counted?

[lame54]

2. LIKE and YOU KNOW are horrible...

anybody who speaks publicly and is infected with this disease should seek treatment and have it cured as quickly as possible

[KansDem]

3. His "Ahhs," even at a rate of 25 a minute...

Have more substance than anything that came from Il Duce's mouth...

edited for coding...

[kenny blankenship]

4. Abraham Lincoln said "Duh" a lot

Jefferson was addicted to interjections of "you know".
Ah, duh, and you know tend to be excised from transcripts and accounts of great leaders' speeches. But that doesn't mean they never said Ah, duh, or you know.

[Occam Bandage]

5. Obama got roundly knocked around for his "ahhs" and "umms,"

but his absolutely sterling delivery when reading off a Teleprompter shut down most of that criticism. When you hear an Obama speech, you are left with the perception that he is a magnificent orator. When you hear an Obama press conference, you are left with the perception that he is somewhat halting and awkward in his delivery. Magnificence trumps mediocrity in the mind, and so people are more willing to forgive his stop-and-go manner in press conferences and interviews.

Caroline Kennedy, on the other hand, hasn't demonstrated any particular oratorical skill to counter her "umms" and "aahs," and it's made all the worse by her need to prove that she is not the lightweight that her resume indicates she might be. Not saying it's a meaningful problem with CK, but that's why the "pissy fit" exists.

[grannylib]

6. I agree; he's certainly more articulate than what we've had to endure

for the last eight years; he's thoughtful, IMHO, trying to weigh what he's saying before he says it, and it can be very difficult to speak extemporaneously AND totally smoothly, unless your a liar with a bunch of rehearsed talking points that you can just rehash over and over and over...
I don't mind it. When I listen to what he's saying, that becomes the more important aspect of his speaking.

[treestar]

14. Exactly! He's thinking when he speaks extemporaneously

He knows the slightest gaffe will be discussed endlessly in the media.

[ejpoeta]

7. personally, i was comforted by obama's speech. i know he did the uhhs and such,

but that was when answering a question on the fly. i'd take that anyday to a man who can't even complete a sentence. what i take away from these press conferences is that obama is open to ideas and doesn't get mad at criticism (like someone else has done for eight years). the man isn't even sworn in yet and has been busting his butt since he was elected while dubya walks around scratching himself and doing NOTHING!! i personally think bush's pay should be docked to pay us back for the crap he has done to our country. garnish his damned 'pension'.

[gauguin57]

8. They're all "hesitation markers" (in linguistic speak) ... used by those who are actually THINKING

about what they're going to say next.

Unlike Bush, who allows scrambled syntax and assorted ridiculousness to spew from his mouth without mitigation.

[Schema Thing]

9. The "ahhs" are a big part of why he is a great speaker

smart people think before they blurt things out. The "ahhs" are part of thinking.

[phleshdef]

10. Its a very normal thing to do when collecting your thoughts. I had many college professors that...

...did the same thing during lectures. And if you are talking nonstop and dealing with a bazillion different issues and pieces of information, I would find it hard pressed to fault you for having to slow down and piece together what you need to say.

[hamsterjill]

11. For me, it's the Annnnnnnnnddddd'ssss"

But I will gladly suffer that minor irritation compared to the complete agony of the last eight years of Bush garbling every word that escaped his mouth.

[jberryhill]

21. Those are contagious, you know....

I've started doing them, and it's driving me nuts.

[Vektor]

12. Much better than listening to that ahhhs-hole George W. Bush, though.

:-)

[mtnsnake]

27. I can't wait to listen to Obama and the Goddess of Peace teamed up together

laying their message of peace upon the ears of the world in a few short days. ahhhhHHHH

(Just for you, Vektor :))

:hi:

[Vektor]

29. Hahahahaha!!

Thanks, man. I needed that. :-)

[EraOfResponsibility]

13. "Childrens do learn" - George W. Bush

Yeah, give me "ahhh"'s and "aaaaaaaaaaaaaand's" ANYDAY. LOL :)

[PBS Poll-435]

20. The question we must ask ourselves is:

Is our children learning?

[jberryhill]

23. It's hard to put food on your family /nt

[AtomicKitten]

15. Next to Junior, Obama sounds like a symphony. n/t

[CakeGrrl]

16. That's OK with me. I'll take a person who's actually THINKING as he speaks

about what he is about to say.

Obama and Kennedy may have linguistic tics, but there's intelligence behind their words, which are formed into complete sentences despite the pauses.

I can't believe those who try to drag CK down to comparisons with Sarah Palin, a simple, meanminded dimbulb who can't express a coherent thought.

[Thrill]

17. Its thinking before you speak. A lot of Lawyers have a problem with it

Actually I wouldn't even call it a problem.

[Jennicut]

18. I am shy like Caroline and stammer a lot in front of big groups of people

but is has gotten better as I am older. Still, I am still shy at 33 so Caroline is understandable though one has to get over that to be a Senator, I guess. Obama's ticks seem to come from taking time to be thoughtful and give careful answers, much better then Georgie's mangled text.

[Hippo_Tron]

19. It's a sign that he's actually thinking before he speaks

Which is rare in a politician because most of the crap that comes out of their mouth is scripted during press conferences and interviews. In the debates he really toned down the "Ahhs" but that's because he had far more scripted concise lines ready to deliver. In interviews he doesn't really have those lines and I'm glad that he actually thinks before he starts talking.

There are a few people that just can think on their feet at an extremely rapid pace, such as Bill Clinton. But unlike Clinton, Obama is among is mere mortals in that area. His ability on the stump more than makes up for it, though.

[jberryhill]

22. The thing about gap fillers when thinking...

I don't mind pause fillers so long as the person actually works out a complete sentence around them.

Some people do "ahh", "umm", "you know", "like", but don't get around to finding a subject a verb and an object along the way.

Also.

[EraOfResponsibility]

25. ROFL @ "Also" n/t

[jberryhill]

26. I love that "also"...

It's an interesting punctuation mark, since it makes it seem as if you said more than you really did, also.

[smalll]

24. Obama's Ahhs are OK, because they come between solid and intelligent phrases and concepts -

Caroline's you-knows are not OK (at least by me) mostly because, in those three notorious interviews of two weekends ago, they came between absolutely content-free overly-cautious dodges.

I could take a few you-knows if she would say anything REAL between them!

[BlooInBloo]

28. Even his manner of speech betrays us!!!!

:rofl:

You guys are truly insane.