I happened to see a few moments of him speaking to some group on TV today and I noticed something I've seen him do a lot. He leans on his left elbow while he speaks a great deal of the time. Why is that? Does he have an injury or something? I could make the joke that he has to lean to the left when he speaks because his policies lean so far to the right, but I wouldn't do that.
I suspect it's just a quirk, kind of like Clinton and the lip thing. All public speakers have them. Some people are critical of them, but to me they're rather refreshing. I'd much rather see a human being talk, even with quirky behaviors, than a cardboard cut out who can't move. That may not be Public Speaking 101, just my opinion.
I agree TraJ. I've heard nothing about it and really didn't notice until Jeff said something. Some people just find a comfortable way of speaking in front of people I guess. Unfortunately, I haven't found one yet. I find it more interesting to listen to him talk as he does than if he were to stand pefectly still. I think the public likes thinking that the President is just a regular guy like everyone else. It brings some familiarity to the whole thing, IMO.
Maybe he just likes being comfortable when speaking? I know Al Gore's gotta have back problems with that rigid act... Whenever I've done public speaking, I've found that making myself physically comfortable makes me more comfortable mentally. I like an interactive format, too... Bush seems to have the same style. Relatively laid back and open. I like it, even if I don't always like what he's talking about.
I was just curious. It seemed odd. Of course, nothing can compare to the fact that FDR forced himself out of his wheelchair despite incredible pain to speak in front of people. THAT is amazing.
FDR was pretty amazing. It brings up the ever popular political science question "What would the elections of the past have been like if they had the media and technology of today?" Took a whole class of it and the main point is that it would have made a difference, but no one will ever know to what extent. You could say FDR would have never been elected, but that doesn't mean the other guy would. Someone else probably would have run instead of FDR and that would affect the other side's ticket as well. It's a never ending cycle.
