by D.G. Wells

Created on: April 17, 2008

There is an old saying that says a powerful speaker is more powerful than any weapon and I believe this quote is undoubtedly true. A speaker can inspire hope, anger, or will to do any certain task, but in the President's case, there is a lot more things he or she has to accomplish. The position of President of the United States of America is arguably one of the most powerful positions in the entire world and although being a great speaker will add to the President's effectiveness, there are many other attributes a president most possess.

Many people think of a speech as just a way to get across an idea, but a speech can achieve much more than that. They can inspire people to accomplish things thought to be impossible, or get a large group of people to achieve an unimaginable success. The President of our country should have this quality, but it is a small characteristic that comes behind many more important ones. A president needs to be able to make critical decisions that could decide the fate of this country. They need to be able to work through economical problems that would baffle many people. Now, being a great speaker would definitely help the President gain the trust of the public, but even as effective as speeches are, they are now inhibited by all the new technology and broadcasting.

In this current day and age there are countless television stations criticizing certain candidates and picking apart every little thing they say. Our country has been divided by political parties and there are different broadcast programs ran by both sides. This would inhibit the effectiveness of any speech a president gave. No matter what party this president was from, there would always be another side criticizing and over-analyzing this speech taking away from everything it tried to inspire the public to do. The only reason a President needs to be able to give good speeches is to inspire the public to do certain things and with the other side constantly criticizing what they said, it would take away from the cause of the speech; to inspire. This is probably the biggest reason the president no longer has to have this speaking ability because whether it is a good speech or not, their point will get across, and if it was a great speech, many programs will criticize it so much it loses its greatness and cause.

Do not misunderstand me, being able to give great speeches will definitely contribute to any president, but is a small part of all the qualifications a president has to have. That is why I have chosen to write for the no side. Just being able to give effective speeches does not make an effective president. It makes an effective president more effective, but is not the sole thing that would make a president effective. The public does not pass bills or decide about war. The president needs to be able to impress Congress to get things to pass. So, when all is said and done, being able to give effective speeches does not make a president effective, but makes a good president more effective.

Learn more about this author, D.G. Wells.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.