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uses less than sixty words
a nationally-televised address, Tuesday evening employing only 59
separate words during the two-and-a-half hour speech.
"Freedom is on the march," Bush said. "Our march toward victory
continues."
"Freedom" figured prominently in the president’s 18,172-word address
accounting for roughly every fifth word uttered. "Evil-doers" (702 mentions),
"justice" (545 mentions), "victory" (530 mentions) and "democracy" (503
mentions), also played large roles in the president’s talk. Bush made clear
during the presentation that the nation had much left to accomplish during
the coming years.
"We continue to secure our democracy against those who hate," he said.
"Free peoples cannot have security and justice without victory over the hate
of the evil-doers."
Bush’s public speaking accomplishment was immediately hailed by his
supporters as a feat of verbal precision unequaled since Theodore Geisel,
the famed Dr. Seuss, managed to write "Green Eggs and Ham" using only
50 individual words.
"This was one for the ages," said noted radio host Rush Limbaugh. "Using
only 59 words, the president showed the American people a simple path
towards a better future."
"Concise, that’s the word that comes to mind," said conservative writer Ann
Coulter on Wednesday’s edition of Fox News’ "Hannity and Colmes." "Bush’
s words leave no doubt about where he stands. He tells you - again and
again."
Republicans contrasted Bush’s style of speaking with that of leading
Democrats like John Kerry, who during last year’s failed presidential bid,
often employed many thousands of words to express his vision for the
country.
"'Multilateral’, ‘globalization’, ‘interventionism’," said Bill O’Reilly, host of
"The O’Reilly Factor." "Who can trust a man who talks like that?"
"The evil-doers cannot stop democracy’s victory," Bush said 55-minutes
into his historic speech. "It is victory over hate that freedom’s justice will
secure."
Many observers noted that the president’s use of language has been key to
his political fortunes over the years.
"Simple, oft-repeated rhetoric has made this president the most
comprehensible in American history," said historian Henry Milford. "His
words, reaffirmed over and over, provide a kind of clarity that his opponents
cannot match. Their many words, often containing multiple syllables, show
an strange ideology riddled with frightening complexity and unsettling
intricacies. Freed of such complications, Mr. Bush can lay out a comforting
vision with unparalleled straightforwardness. Truly one of our greatest
presidents."
Reaction was quick and overwhelmingly positive from the viewers of the
speech, who gave it high marks.
"I really agreed with what the president said about freedom," said Mona
Aster, of Madison, Wis. "and about democracy and security."
"And about freedom," she added, after a pause.
"I felt good after the speech. I’m glad the president favors the same things I
do. It was reassuring to hear him talk about democracy and security so
clearly," said Barry Newhall, of Portsmouth, N.H. "Reassuring - and
strangely numbing."
"They hate us because of our freedom," Bush intoned during as the
pendulum of a large grandfather clock swung hypnotically back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth, behind him, "The people want democracy
and it is the victory of democracy that we will secure against evil. Our victory’
s march will secure our security."
Vice President Dick Cheney echoed the praise for the president.
"We should all follow the president’s example toward a new era in political
discourse," he said. "If we work together and keep to the ideals the
president has laid out for us, perhaps someday we will all be free of the
tangles of convoluted elitist ideology. Perhaps we can look forward to a
time when the American people are no longer hampered by any political
philosophy that takes more than 60 words to convey. I look forward to that
day. I think we all do."
and tell me
what you
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