3 June 2016
Flesching out Hillary’s Trump thumpin’ speech
In a speech (transcript) delivered in San Diego yesterday, Hillary Clinton attacked Donald Trump as a foreign policy ignoramus whose vindictive temperament makes him too dangerous to be president. It was not an eloquent speech, but it knocked Trump off his stride and therefore it was an effective speech.
It also was simply phrased. I ran it through two readability applications, Flesh, and the online Readability Test Tool. To borrow an expression from an earlier era, it was written for the milkman with an eighth grade education:
Most of Barack Obama’s speeches produced similar scores.
Just as she did not spare Trump criticism, she did not spare herself praise:
Unlike him, I have some experience with the tough calls and the hard work of statecraft. I wrestled with the Chinese over a climate deal in Copenhagen, brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, negotiated the reduction of nuclear weapons with Russia, twisted arms to bring the world together in global sanctions against Iran, and stood up for the rights of women, religious minorities and LGBT people around the world.
[Applause]
And I have, I have sat in the Situation Room and advised the President on some of the toughest choices he faced.
So I’m not new to this work. And I’m proud to run on my record, because I think the choice before the American people in this election is clear.
Low self-esteem is not one of her problems. But wearing her résumé on her sleeve is. She seems to think no one will believe she’s a leader unless she says she’s one. And says it fortissimo, at great length, and repeatedly.
But that’s exactly the wrong way to persuade others of one’s leadership abilities.
True leaders never say “I’m a leader.” Instead, they exhibit the characteristics of leadership through the way they carry themselves; through their self-confidence and mastery of the subject matter; through their thoughtful and persuasive proposals for policy and action.
Bernie Sanders does not say, “I’m a leader.” He just acts like one. Hillary should adopt his approach.