Saturday, June 9, 2012

HOW TO PRAISE YOUR PREDECESSOR WITH CLASS

Power Line
"I wrote here about President Obama’s remarks during the ceremony in which portraits of George W. and Laura Bush were unveiled at the White House. Unfortunately, Obama found it difficult to offer any praise of Bush that did not refer, usually self-servingly, to himself. And, I wrote, to the very limited extent that Obama managed to offer such praise, “there wasn’t much warmth or charity in it – it fell well short of what Bush was able to say in praise of Bill Clinton under similar circumstances.” "
"At Ricochet, former Bush speechwriter Bill McGurn has performed the service of holding Obama’s remarks about Bush next to Bush’s remarks about Clinton (which McGurn did not write). The contrast is even more striking than I had supposed.
"Here is what Obama said about his immediate predecessor:"....
....
"Never once does Bush crash this party; there’s nary a self-reference. Moreover, Bush’s praise for Clinton is full of warmth. And, though Bush doesn’t praise any of Clinton’s specific policies, he emphasizes that, as a general matter, Clinton worked diligently to bring about a better day for America."  
Tell me again: what was that I read about Obama's "likeability"?
Editorial Cartoon

No comments: