Clipmarks | akarra's 'lincoln' clips

The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric and the Problem of Speech in a Democracy

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:17 GMT

clipped by: akarra
clipper's remarks: Discusses the problem of speech in a democracy through following the concerns of a Lincoln scholar.

Clip Source: inrethinking.blogspot.com

The devolution of Presidential rhetoric, perhaps starting with the very notion of TR's "bully pulpit," much less the theater of the modern State of the Union, demonstrates the problem he confronts fully. The executive is not constructed to speak, but to act. If he speaks, his speech must result in effective action. It is tempting to say that in a country where popular opinion is everything, the President's power to persuade is his most effective action. Thus, the "bully pulpit," the televised State of the Union, the press conferences, the Presidential reading lists, the campaign books, etc. etc. are not a product of politics merely trying to give Oprah competition. Rather, the President could be doing his job in being a second-rate media figure.

All one has to do, though, to demolish the argument that the President's primary power lies in persuasion is focus on what an inability to persuade does to effective action.

Tags: politics, lincoln, presidency, speech

Why Is the Gettysburg Address Important?

Thu, 01 May 2008 22:56:02 GMT

clipped by: akarra
clipper's remarks: Addresses two views of how equality should be established as a principle in American life.

Clip Source: inrethinking.blogspot.com

Lincoln & Jefferson are agreed on the universal significance of the American enterprise, but there is divergence. This nation was "conceived in Liberty" & "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." "Conceived" implies that maybe not all governments are conceived such, that maybe Jefferson's notion that all governments derive their right from the consent of the governed is false. "Dedicated to the proposition" again implies a defect in Jefferson's formulation. For Jefferson, that all men are created equal is a matter of knowledge. It is self-evident truth.

But a "proposition" is something that has to be proved true or false. It is not necessarily true. To be dedicated to a proposition is a matter of belief. To be an American is to believe all men are created equal, to work to make that a truth as best one can.

Tags: lincoln, gettysburg, jefferson, politics, democracy, equality, civil war