September 22, 2001 'The speech of his life' earns plaudits for Bush.
President Bush called on the nation to destroy
terrorism in his speech Thursday, and by all
accounts, the nation responded yesterday with
resounding approval.
"The president, by
everybody's mind, did a great
job last night," said Paul
Pacelli, news director and
co-host of the morning talk
show on WELI-AM in New
Haven, Conn.
"The reaction on the
morning show was very good,
very solid," said Mr. Pacelli.
"We didn't get one single
negative call. People were
pleased with the entire
speech."
The Minneapolis-St. Paul
Star Tribune declared the
president's address before a
joint session of Congress "the
speech of his life."
"His tone was elevated; his
points were on the mark. He
spoke of courage and
endurance, patience and love.
He reassured the American
people that the state of the
union is strong . It was just
what the nation needed to
hear," said yesterday's editorial.
An NBC News survey found that 90 percent
of those who listened to Mr. Bush's address
before the joint session supported his handling of
the terrorism crisis.
That number fell to 68 percent among those
who missed the president's speech.
The survey of 513 persons, conducted by
Democratic pollster Peter Hart and Republican
Robert Teeter, also showed that 95 percent of
those who saw the president's speech reacted
"very" or "fairly" favorably to his remarks.
"He's direct, he's confident, he's generating
excitement for the American people, and he's got
a certain charisma I haven't seen since JFK," said
Brian Hegna, a Vietnam veteran from Denver.
Indeed, many people praised not only the
substance of Mr. Bush's speech but also his
speaking style, which had previously been
considered one of his weaknesses.
"A lot of people alluded to the fact that he's
been bashed in the past for not being a good
speaker and felt that with this speech he had
turned around a lot," said Scott Taylor, host of
"Morning Drive" on WPZZ-AM in Indianapolis.
"People said, 'That may be one of the all-time
great speeches,'" said Mr. Taylor.
In Detroit, calls about the president's address
to the talk shows at WKRK-FM were "nonstop,"
said Program Director Terry Lieberman.
"The feeling was it was a great speech, great
as far as morale goes and as far as galvanizing
people," said Mr. Lieberman. "A lot of people who
didn't feel as positive about President Bush
before were very positive about his speech.
They would say, 'I didn't support him,' or 'I didn't
vote for him, but I support what he's doing.'"
Tahnita Clayton, who works for a customs
brokerage firm in Los Angeles, said she was still
worried about the prospect of war, but that she
appreciated Mr. Bush's methodical, deliberate
approach.
"So far I feel like we're in good hands. He's
not jumping to conclusions," said Miss Clayton.
"I'm glad he's taking his time."
The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times praised Mr.
Bush for his healing words and urged Congress
to support his agenda.
"The president's inspirational words lifted a
grieving nation's spirits," an editorial in
yesterday's editions said.
"President Bush set the right priorities
Thursday night," said the editorial. "The rest of his
administration, along with members of Congress
who were listening, should follow his lead."
One of the few negative currents that
emerged from the post-speech commentary was
Mr. Bush's decision to appoint Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Ridge to a newly created
Cabinet-level post in charge of homeland
security.
"People were saying 'Do we need another
Cabinet secretary?' because a lot of our
listenership is conservative and says we already
have enough government," said Mr. Taylor.
Some callers also took swipes at Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton, New York Democrat, for what
they described as her irreverent demeanor during
the president's speech.
"A lot of people called and bashed Hillary,
saying that all she did was laugh, talk and roll her
eyes," said Mr. Taylor.
washtimes.com
tom watson tosiwmee |
