Why Americans do political speeches so well (and debates so badly)

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Why Americans do political speeches so well (and debates so badly)

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The recent Democratic National Convention in Chicago was a showcase of impressive speeches. Presidential nominee Kamala Harris jupstified the newfound enthusiasm of Democrats with a strong acceptance speech, but even she couldn’t match the oratorical power of

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and

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Obama two nights earlier.

US political culture is marked by visionary speeches, from Abraham Lincoln’s

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and William Jennings Bryan’s “

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” to Martin Luther King’s “

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” and Ronald Reagan’s “

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“. This rhetorical tradition infuses events such as party conventions, where memorable speeches can

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.

Australia also has some justly famous political speeches. There was Robert Menzies’ “

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” address of 1942, Paul Keating’s

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in 1992, and Julia Gillard’s “

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” to parliament in 2012. Noel Pearson’s

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in 2014 was a rhetorical masterpiece.

But these speeches are memorable because they are so rare. *********** politicians need to be good communicators, but they are not expected to deliver the kind of soaring, visionary rhetoric we see so often in the US. Why is this?

Politics with the soul of a *******

US party conventions often look like

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, and

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of the recent DNC. Hollywood has become an indelible part of US political culture.

Reagan, a former Hollywood actor, set new standards for how

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and

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presidents could be. Donald Trump may not be everyone’s idea of a great orator, but the former reality TV star is certainly a

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.

The tradition of preaching is an even deeper cultural source of US political rhetoric. With about

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, the sermon is the most prevalent form of public speech in the US.

********* preachers need to be compelling, given the level of religious competition, and ******* is where many future politicians first encounter the craft of public speaking. ********* political speeches often reflect the combination of

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found in preaching.

While evangelical Christianity is usually associated with the *********** Party, it is also in the DNA of Democrats because of the

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. One of the standout speakers of the DNC was

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, senior pastor of the

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.

Warnock described Trump in biblical terms as a “plague on the ********* conscience.” But he also described a vote as “a kind of prayer for the world we ******* for ourselves and for our children.”

Australia has no shortage of politicians who were raised as Christians and have ********** commitments. But unlike in the US, where even secular politicians must pay lip service to prayer, ********** politicians in Australia must

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to the secularism of *********** culture. This culture does not expect politicians to preach.

Strong speeches for weak parties

Michelle Grattan last week described *********** party conferences as “mind-numbing” compared with the “Hollywood extravaganzas” of their US counterparts.

But the spectacles at US party conventions testify to the

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of ********* political parties. The Democratic and *********** National Committees have

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. Party organizations are localized and fragmented. They lack the central authority found in *********** parties, and the national convention every four years is the only time a nationwide party truly comes into existence.

Even in Congress, parties have few mechanisms for

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. Party leaders are forced to negotiate with their own side,

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. Party conventions see an extravagant display of unity behind a newly nominated candidate. This is one of the few moments party unity is guaranteed.

While there is plenty of competition for power within *********** parties, in Australia it mostly takes place behind closed doors within party hierarchies. In the US, would-be legislators and executives need to campaign publicly to win the often brutal primary elections that earn them the party’s nomination.

Successful candidates must create their own personalized campaigns. They have help from local party organizations, which coordinate resources and volunteers, but they need much more than that. A candidate for national office must build their own coalition of donors that would

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anything a party could provide.

Hence the need for good speech-making. Competition for the attention of donors and voters is fierce, and a compelling speech is a vital way to stand out. This is especially true of

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, who came from outside the party’s traditional power bases.

In Australia, inspirational speeches don’t have the same political currency. A system of strict party discipline, small preselection contests and

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means candidates are rewarded more for other political skills.

The *********** advantage: Debating

While a US politician might give a more entertaining stump speech than an *********** one, an *********** politician would probably perform better in any scenario that requires unscripted comments—especially a debate with an opponent.

Even superb US political orators can be

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when they don’t have a script and a receptive audience. Congressional debates consist of prepared speeches with little direct engagement between opponents. There is no equivalent to

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, and holders of executive office (such as the president or state governors) aren’t even in the legislature.

While Congressional committee hearings can sometimes provide a

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we associate with Question Time, the structure of Congress isn’t conducive to debate in the same way.

The physical format of Westminster parliaments, with opponents facing each other directly, attests to an adversarial nature that was

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. The power of Gillard’s “misogyny speech,” which went viral globally, came partly from the way she delivered it

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.

US Congress was designed differently. The framers of the Constitution loathed the idea of

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, and imagined a legislature made up of representatives who would negotiate with each other to find consensus. Congress in turn would have to negotiate with the president, who would

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with its members.

This may explain why, despite the routine brilliance of convention speeches, US presidential debates are so tedious and forgettable. Commentators who try to hype these debates by citing “great moments” from past debates inevitably reach for the same ancient zinger, “

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,” delivered by forgotten vice-presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen in 1988.

The sad reality is that the most memorable and consequential presidential debate in living memory is the one we just saw, where Joe Biden performed so badly he ended his hopes of a second presidency.

In the land of the scripted, the

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.

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Why Americans do political speeches so well (and debates so badly) (2024, August 29)
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