The Communication skills of the last 3 GOP presidents

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Reagan...Bush41...Bush43

We went from one of the best and clearest speakers in American History...to a very mediocre speaker...to the poorest speaker to ever hold the office of President

This must stop.

The ability to give a good speech is not everything, but the inability to speak effectively means you lack the ability to lead this nation in the modern era.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Reagan...Bush41...Bush43

We went from one of the best and clearest speakers in American History...to a very mediocre speaker...to the poorest speaker to ever hold the office of President

This must stop.

The ability to give a good speech is not everything, but the inability to speak effectively means you lack the ability to lead this nation in the modern era.

You missed out Clinton - excellent orator. As one comedian said he could look you in the eye and say 'I am not here' and you'd believe him

no i didn't... the title of this thread relates to the last GOP presidents, not the Dems.

Obviously, Bush43 would have never become governor of Texas, much less President, if he wasn't the son of Bush41...so someone with such poor communication skills will probably never again rise to the office of President.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

GHW Bush was not a mediocre speaker.

yeah, he was, and I also thought so at the time

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Reagan was the best of all time maybe, until Obama came along.

I would place Obama below Reagan and Clinton, but well above Bush41 and Bush43.

Hard for me to compare Reagan and Clinton because the times were so different.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

GHW Bush was not a mediocre speaker.

yeah, he was, and I also thought so at the time

The only fault Bush 1 had when it came to speaking was that he would say "well" (instead of "umm") as a way to fill in the void of silence when he paused to think.  Other than that, he was a well-spoken individual.

I think Bush41 was an excellent speaker during the first GulfWar crisis...but other than that, he lacked conviction/direction and his communication was subpar.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Bush41 was definitely a mediocre speaker.  Obama is excellent.  Reagan was excellent.  Clinton was excellent.  Bush43 is a total joke.

good thread

Sorry, Obama is not an excellent speaker off the cuff.

Off the cuff, Clinton is clearly better than Obama, but noone delivers a prepared speech more impressively than Obama.

For the record I think the main strengths of both Reagan and Clinton oratorically, was their ability to connect with their audience. In this regard they were both superior to Obama. Where Obama reigns supreme is in giving a majestic speech that leaves everyone in awe. It's a different ballpark, really. Not saying that one is better than the other. Infact, I think the Clinton/Reagan style has got better endurance. I could potentially see people getting tired of Obamas grandiose speeches, which will also be tougher to do when he's the president and not the challenger.

I thought Obama's election night speech was good, but in the end it is all a bunch slogan's "Yes We Can" and "Hope".  He's not bringing anything new to the table.  Reagan, on the other hand, stated that the power of our ideas could win the cold war without a single shot, and we did.  Obama is so compromised in his thoughts, he'll be swept away by world events.