The Big Subtext
Feb 06, 2020
There was something for President Trump to talk about Tuesday night. Something big and current and pertinent to the state of the union. No, not the Iowa Caucus vote debacle, …
Leadership from Atlanta
Jun 01, 2020
Political eulogies rethicken and refasten community ties frayed by the untimely deaths of its people. We have no eulogies yet for the victims of COVID19. The socially distanced funeral for …
Not a great speech—but a good one
Nov 09, 2020
Victory Speech by President-Elect Joseph Biden, November 7, 2020, Wilmington DE Joe Biden could not rely on custom to smooth his way through a victory speech. It was not safe …
PSA World Conference
A Record-Setting, Rally-Style Rumble
Jul 19, 2024
Former President Donald J. Trump Republican Nomination Acceptance Speech Milwaukee WI July 18, 2024 By Michael Cornfield Donald J. Trump’s third nomination acceptance speech was a strange show. It opened …
Jordan’s Hall of Fame induction speech added to Vital Speeches’ YouTube channel
Sep 12, 2009
In his speech yesterday at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Michael Jordan was more emotional and funnier than I remembered. See here. Added 9/14: A compelling counterpoint here.
Book Review: Theodore Sorensen and the Kennedys: A Life of Public Service
Dec 18, 2019
Review of: Theodore Sorensen and the Kennedys: A Life of Public Service by Michelle A. Ulyatt, PhD (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, 257 pages) In this age of Trump, as Michelle Ulyatt …
Unfriendly ghost? Former chief Bush scribe declares Obama’s rhetorical rep “declining”
Jan 13, 2010
Michael Gerson, who served as the chief speechwriter for President Bush’s first term, now writes a column for the Washington Post. Today, he uses the platform to offer, as he …
First Black Speechwriters Symposium convenes at Howard University
Nov 06, 2019
Professional Speechwriters Association studies repeatedly show that African Americans represent less than five percent of an already tiny speechwriting community. That means you can practically count black speechwriters on two …
Dispatch from the Rhetorical Deep State
Oct 30, 2019
“Hey, how did the big conference go?” I’m asked by my wife, my kid, soccer moms and dads, by speechwriters who couldn’t make it this year. I stare off into …