It depends, of course, on your definition of "great" and "articulate," but for his ability to work an audience, it has to be Bill Clinton.
Clinton Atchley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Director, Master of Liberal Arts Program
Box 7652
Henderson State University
Arkadelphia, AR 71999
Phone: 870.230.5276
Email: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://www.hsu.edu/atchlec
________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Susan van Druten
Sent: Tue 11/25/2008 6:20 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: the most articulate American
Barack Obama.
But you weren't really listening to Paul. When he said he didn't want to play best and worst list games, you said you agreed with him. Clearly, you do not agree with him. I don't particularly think Obama is a great orator (because politicians are full of b.s.), but since I'd rather listen to him than Henry and since he's kinda in the news right now, he's my choice for greatest political living orator. As far as verbal skills--and not speeches--go, I think Steven Colbert is very clever. But he's playing the role of a sophist. I also like Mark Twain and George Orwell and H.L. Mencken.
On Nov 25, 2008, at 5:45 PM, Brad Johnston wrote:
Whadaya talking about? There are Best and Worst lists published every day. Netflix sends you a DVD movie and asks you to grade it one to five: hated it, didn't like it, liked it, liked it a lot, loved it. Then their computer tells you what it thinks you'll grade a movie you haven't seen yet.
Every speech I ever gave I had a critic sitting in the back - a speech professor if I could find one.
You don't like my choice, tell us what yours is.
Don't you pay attention to what people write and how they write it? If you do, you must think some are better than others. Henry's going to be tough to beat but go ahead and try it. Take a shot.
Anyone else want to take a shot and let Paul hunker down? It's not Hemingway and it's not George Bush and it's not Mary Higgins Clark. Who is it? Who's really got a handle on our language?
C'mon, gang. Who's really good at it?
--- On Tue, 11/25/08, Paul E. Doniger <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
If you agreed with everything I said, then you wouldn't ask such a question. I see no value in debating who is or who isn't a better user of the English language than Henry Kissinger. I'd rather just dwell joyfully in good language when I come across it and not make comparisons.
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