Free speechwriting advice for Muammar Gaddafi, and other troubled dictators

The first bit of rhetorical advice for Libyan dicator Muammar Gaddafi from an unnamed speechwriter for a senior European Union politician is:

“Don’t mention rats, cats or dogs. Blood-curdling threats can work sometimes, but try to diversify your “drive-by” diatribes. Avoid rodents. Calling your enemies “greasy rats and cats” might infuse a certain rhetorical flow into your speech—but at the end of the day it sounds a bit too Dr. Seuss, when you should be thinking Dr. Goebbels.”

Don’t miss the rest, in The Jerusalem Post.

(Hat tip to BP exec comms boss John Barnes for alerting us to it.)