George Bush Is Not Good At Public Speaking

Perhaps I’m just now mature enough to notice it, but have political figures always been so bewildering and irrational? Jumping from one irrelevant subject to the next to try and cover their incompetency? It feels like a perfect complement to the quality of overall broadcasting all together. Snookie on Jersey Shore is the new G dub.

George junior has stammered back into the public eye, ya know, to impart some insightful criticism or perhaps to offer some sort of explanation of his administration. Correction: There is a book, people. Now en route on the publicity circuit, we’re getting reacquainted with this spectacle of a man.

I was anticipating the interview with Matt Lauer because I noticed his public image was starting to catch favorable empathy as a direct result. There’s even a billboard on 35 shouting, “Miss me yet?” with his face conspicuously plastered. I was thinking, what could this guy possibly have said during this interview to make people forget? Nothing… actually, less than nothing.

Wouldn’t incumbents of the White House be able to afford decent publicity reps? Isn’t there someone that could manage this mess? Let’s start with not giving verbatim speeches and answers to every location. He’s had this chronic tendency throughout his public presence resulting in tumultuous reactions. How does someone ignore past consequences and continue to fail? He talks about his family, Laura, his mother and the fetus, and his dog. Bush makes sure to emphasize that even the former president picks up dog poop.

Bush’s apparent strategy is to babble about pointless things, draw unnecessary emotion during irrelevant topics, and project responsibility to anyone else possible. He never took blame unless it was worldly impossible otherwise, like the picture of him looking at New Orleans outside of his plane. He took blame for that, because Rumsfeld luckily wasn’t in the plane to take responsibility. He blamed the intelligence team, he blamed the local governments, and he blamed the media. This tactic might work for a one-time deal, but to relentlessly persist is insulting to viewers. Other things that would cause him to fail speech class:

- His body language is too strong, like he's above those he's speaking to

- He laughs at his own jokes

- Overuse of keywords, and talking in circles. ("The American people do not want terrorism. If they don't want terrorism, they have to give other things up so that they can have what they want. If not, they wouldn't want what they want.")

- He appears angry when asked questions ("Don't you want to get rid of terrorism?!")

He closed the interview assuring the public he doesn’t lose sleep over his popularity, or lack thereof. He doesn’t care if his decisions are unfavorable; he is here for America, not you. Someone should have told him not to go this route, to avoid those words. He was the representation of our opinion, of our agenda, yet someone who has no regard toward that aspect. He didn’t hide his intentions for money when he came to campus and spoke, and asked who would be surprised by that? People clapped and clamored and yelled “USA!” I suppose the average citizen wouldn’t be out of line to proceed with the incentive of money, but his entire legacy is built around his stride for monetary wealth, even if it means going to war. Professing this motive at this single time is a small window to his entire MO. I have hope that most of America hasn’t forgotten his corruption. Maybe it’s just my immediate surroundings that are reflective of optimistic hopes for Bush, and if that’s the case, I’m moving…ASAP.