Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize

When it comes to speeches, there are two main views the audience can adopt: for or against what is being said. That is why it is no surprise that some republicans say, that President Obama "gave the most Bush-like speech of his presidency," whereas U.S. News writes, "The president's landmark speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize was a classic Obama address."

I say it's both.



President Obama's style and personality in this speech embrace his usual tone and character. His words seem practiced but not overly rehearsed. He knows what he wants to say, so he is confident in his words. He makes eye contact with the audience and alludes "to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. . .freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from fear, and freedom from want--come from FDR's Four Freedoms, first enunciated in the conclusion to his 1941 State of the Union address," says U.S. News. This citing of past addresses strengthens his credibility as the revered speech writer he is. For these reasons, I agree with U.S. News; it was a classic Obama address.

However, at times when President Obama addresses issues of war and national defense in this speech, he doesn't seem to have a clear-cut plan to solve the fighting issues--hence, Bush Like. President Obama talks of difficult challenges our nation faces, but he doesn't have the ready-made solutions that he may have had during his candidacy.

Despite the renowned reputation that President Obama has as a speechwriter, his speeches need to be more clearly his style than this Nobel Peace Prize acceptance. If others can compare him to a person whose style of speech giving is so unlike his, whether they mean it positively or negatively, something needs to change.