President Obama: Sandy Hook Speech

Obama’s speech contained a good introduction and had all of the right ideas we would look for in a good speech. My only problem with president Obama’s speech was his delivery. All of the flaws I spotted were in his delivery. There were many observations made on my part while watching president Obama’s speech on the Sandy Hook tragedy. Simple mistakes such as lack in eye contact, long unnecessary pauses, stumbling when starting sentences, and even seeming too emotional made this speech sound as if it was being read by a random person off the street.

"The majority of those who died today were children -- beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. Among the fallen were also teachers -- men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams. So our hearts are broken today -- for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost. Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children’s innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain. “
- Obama

I understand this was a sad day but as commander in chief, president Obama must sound, look, and be strong. He is clearly attempting to level himself to every other citizen in the nation. Instead of doing this, he should make his authoritarian presence felt in order to assure our nation that there will be a change, and that everything will be okay. As our president, people should be able to feel comforted by his words but in this case, our president is looking just as hurt and weak as the rest of us. What president Obama did most that really caught me by surprise was his lack in eye contact. He would stare down at his paper after just about every sentence. This made it clear to me that president Obama did not