Where was all this? Air Force One was revving to leave Israel following the funeral of Ex-President Shimon Perez, that titan of Israeli and Middle East politics. Indeed, of the world. And Bill was bending protocol, some, keeping the sitting President waiting thusly. In full view of the world
Showing posts with label Bill Clinton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Clinton. Show all posts
Saturday, October 01, 2016
Matatu Raga on Air Force One: Obama's Beba Beba Call to Bill Clinton
WATCH: Sitting President Obama (son of Kenya, appropriately) shouts "Beba beba!", sort of, to former President Bill Clinton (and husband of the next), urging him to get aboard Air Force One rather more pronto than he was inclined to.
Where was all this? Air Force One was revving to leave Israel following the funeral of Ex-President Shimon Perez, that titan of Israeli and Middle East politics. Indeed, of the world. And Bill was bending protocol, some, keeping the sitting President waiting thusly. In full view of the world
Where was all this? Air Force One was revving to leave Israel following the funeral of Ex-President Shimon Perez, that titan of Israeli and Middle East politics. Indeed, of the world. And Bill was bending protocol, some, keeping the sitting President waiting thusly. In full view of the world
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Two Clintons and the Power of Speech
Bill Clinton delivered a masterful speech at the DNC on August 27, one night after Hillary delivered hers. At least one pundit declared it one of his best, ever. Watch the video here. And here is the text of the speech.
I did not watch it live, as I did Hillary's -- and part of (Montana Governor) Brian Schweitzer's, who, one observer has claimed, is another next President. I must admit that Governor Schweitzer, who had been completely unknown to me till I heard him speak, impressed me the most for the sheer artistry of his delivery Tuesday night -- and it seems I wasn't alone [click here for one of several posts I have come across after the initial publishing of my own post].
This week's proceedings at the Denver DNC have highlighted one fundamental fact about human nature: We are all susceptible, in one way or another, to the oft-overlooked power of speech; and we are wired to respond to fine deliveries.
A singularly powerful speech has a chemical effect, so to speak, on the brain -- capable as it is of changing the thinking of millions, even against their initial will and "testament", or inclination.
And then there were two.
But is this power something to be wary of; or, like fire, something simply to master? Is it friend or foe to the audience's better judgment -- to reason?
The doom and gloom that was predicted for the DNC has, overnight, turned to celebration -- an all-round resumption, as it were, of Obamamania! All largely because of the words uttered, from the heart, by the two Clintons.
I did not watch it live, as I did Hillary's -- and part of (Montana Governor) Brian Schweitzer's, who, one observer has claimed, is another next President. I must admit that Governor Schweitzer, who had been completely unknown to me till I heard him speak, impressed me the most for the sheer artistry of his delivery Tuesday night -- and it seems I wasn't alone [click here for one of several posts I have come across after the initial publishing of my own post].
This week's proceedings at the Denver DNC have highlighted one fundamental fact about human nature: We are all susceptible, in one way or another, to the oft-overlooked power of speech; and we are wired to respond to fine deliveries.
A singularly powerful speech has a chemical effect, so to speak, on the brain -- capable as it is of changing the thinking of millions, even against their initial will and "testament", or inclination.
And then there were two.
But is this power something to be wary of; or, like fire, something simply to master? Is it friend or foe to the audience's better judgment -- to reason?
The doom and gloom that was predicted for the DNC has, overnight, turned to celebration -- an all-round resumption, as it were, of Obamamania! All largely because of the words uttered, from the heart, by the two Clintons.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Hillary's Long Goodbye
I watched Hillary's concession speech, and her endorsement of Obama as their party's presidential nominee, on CNN, Saturday evening. She should have endorsed him sooner, though. I think the "long" delay has done only damage to the already shaken Clinton legacy. Still, I was impressed by the historicity of the moment, and by her no less historic delivery. I felt admiration for her dry, dry-eyed and inner strength -- in contrast to the all-red (all out) Bill. And I felt genuinely sorry for her, wondering why she should not try again in 2016.
She has moved closer to having an important role in the coming Obama administration -- and it is surely coming. As I have pointed out in my blog, however, there are great risks to her being Obama's running mate. Not in 2008 -- perhaps in 2012, should there be an opening.
I think the first female President of the US will most likely be one who has shattered, really shattered, the glass ceiling into more than 18 million pieces all on her own -- to the much debatable extent that heroes do these things alone -- and not, as was tragically Hillary's unsolicited and inescapable fate, essentially on the back of her husband's record (as a two-term US President!). But by 2016 Hillary (who's healthy enough, it seems to me) will most certainly have "atoned" (with extended duty and absence from the highest table)for her easy path to the 2008 campaign, as a former First Lady, and may be that female who at last shatters what now remains only, though so enticingly, cracked.
She has moved closer to having an important role in the coming Obama administration -- and it is surely coming. As I have pointed out in my blog, however, there are great risks to her being Obama's running mate. Not in 2008 -- perhaps in 2012, should there be an opening.
I think the first female President of the US will most likely be one who has shattered, really shattered, the glass ceiling into more than 18 million pieces all on her own -- to the much debatable extent that heroes do these things alone -- and not, as was tragically Hillary's unsolicited and inescapable fate, essentially on the back of her husband's record (as a two-term US President!). But by 2016 Hillary (who's healthy enough, it seems to me) will most certainly have "atoned" (with extended duty and absence from the highest table)for her easy path to the 2008 campaign, as a former First Lady, and may be that female who at last shatters what now remains only, though so enticingly, cracked.
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