Aside from That, Sam, How Did You Like the Speech?
Gold, Victor
Victor Gold ASIDE FROM THAT, SAM, HOW DID YOU LIKE THE SPEECH? If today's White House press corps had covered the Gettysburg Address .. . As reported by the Washington Post: GETTYSBURG, Pa.,...
...White House staff claims that the trip was purely non-political...
...As covered by the New York Times: Not only was the President's address sharply criticized by political experts for being too brief, but he was completely upstaged by the main speaker of the day, the brilliant public orator, Edward Everett...
...Judging by early reaction to his address, however, the White House strategy appears to have backfired...
...Lincoln's home life more likely account for his grim public visage in recent months...
...All we got for our trouble was a puny two-minute talk.' Unquote...
...Commented this source, who requested anonymity: "This is merely another example of the sloppy White House staff work that has plagued the Lincoln presidency since the day he took office...
...Moreover, Mr...
...Lincoln made one of his rare trips outside Washington to visit this vote-rich keystone state...
...Asked for comment, White House spokesman John Hay vehemently denied this report, insisting that the President had "worked over two drafts of the speech before he left Washington...
...DONALDSON: "The president delivered his remarks in the same high-pitched, grating vocal style that has characterized his past public addresses...
...Lincoln, who was elected three years ago on a pledge to preserve the Union, once again failed to provide details on any fresh Administration initiative to achieve this objective...
...He is coauthor, along with Lynne Cheney, of the recently published Washington novel, The Body Politic...
...If today's White House press corps had covered the Gettysburg Address .. . As reported by the Washington Post: GETTYSBURG, Pa., Nov...
...20 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR JANUARY 1989...
...Aides Hay and Nicolay claimed the President's solemn demeanor was simply 'appropriate to the occasion,' but knowledgeable Washington sources have indicated that serious problems in Mr...
...19—President Lincoln, in what White House aides billed as a "non-political" speech, dedicated a military cemetery here today before a sparse, unresponsive crowd estimated by local authorities at fewer than 300 people...
...Lincoln didn't accompany the President here...
...WALLACE: "Another significant absentee from the speakers platform was Vice President Hannibal Hamlin...
...Lincoln said that the men who died at Gettysburg gave their lives so that, I quote, 'this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.' "That's what the man said...
...As viewed by Time magazine: According to an informed source, the President left the capital for Gettysburg without a prepared text and hurriedly scribbled his remarks on the back of an envelope en route to the cemetery site...
...Another criticism, voiced by one Buck County farmer, was that, I quote, 'My family and I drove two hours in a wagon to hear the President of the United States speak...
...Lincoln plans to dump Mr...
...And analyzed by Sam Donaldson on ABC News...
...An ABC exit poll of those leaving the cemetery following the President's speech found 86 percent rating it 'Poor,' only five percent rating it 'Average,' with nine percent 'Undecided.' " And further examined by Elizabeth Drew, in the New Yorker: "Mr...
...In the speech itself, Mr...
...One veteran political observer, noting recent charges that the Lincoln Administration has created a "credibility gap" between itself and the public, termed the President's failure to mention the generals' names "a serious blunder that will come back to haunt him in next year's election...
...Lincoln remained unsmiling throughout his visit to this small eastern Pennsylvania village...
...Nor was this opinion isolated...
...George R McClellan, his probable Democratic opponent next year, Mr...
...George C. Meade, the victorious Union commander at the battle fought here in July, cast doubt on Victor Gold is national correspondent for The American Spectator...
...Hamlin as a running mate next year in favor of a Border State Democrat who could be more helpful in pursuing his campaign's so-called `Southern strategy.' " And last but not least, eviscerated by Dan Rather on CBS News RATHER: "The President, who hasn't held a major news conference in over two years, refused reporters' requests that he answer questions following his address...
...In line with this view, it was significant that Mrs...
...And still further dissected by Chris Wallace on NBC News...
...And reviewed by Newsweek: While debate continued regarding the way in which the President's speech was drafted, there was nevertheless general agreement with the opinion rendered by a visiting professor of oratory from the University of Pennsylvania, who graded Lincoln's performance "a D-minus, totally un-presidential...
...It should be noted, however, that Mr...
...Rumors persist that Mr...
...Lincoln's glaring failure even to mention McClellan or Gen...
...In a tactical move clearly designed by his political handlers to get a jump on Gen...
Vol. 22 • January 1989 • No. 1
