Speech Watch, a repository for speeches by public officials plus commentary.

Sometimes political speeches do come off as a high pitched delivery of hot air. On the other hand, a political speech can be a beautiful moving thing to witness, or an infuriating thing to endure, or so boring you’re tempted to set fire to your hair just to add a spark to the occasion. 

 

The truth is, our history is formed and understood, at least in part, by political speeches. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats pull America out of the depression. Ronald Reagan’s speech in 1986 following the Challenger disaster soothed a stunned nation. In an address to Congress and the nation, President George W. Bush provided one voice following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Obama is touted as one of the most powerful orators of our time.

 

One can argue that while the political speech has always had power and import, it is particularly powerful now. So many more people are exposed to the content of political speeches. At  Speech Watch we want to promulgate speech transcripts and maximize speech analysis. This is the place to vent, to sound off, to emphasis, to develop your writing skills and to have an impact on the way we understand the speeches aimed at us.

 

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"Great speeches have always had great soundbites. The problem now is that the young technicians who put together speeches are paying attention only to the soundbite, not to the text as a whole, not realizing that all great soundbites happen by accident, which is to say, all great soundbites are yielded up inevitably, as part of the natural expression of the text. They are part of the tapestry, they aren’t a little flower somebody sewed on."  

 Peggy Noonan (b. 1950), U.S. author, presidential speechwriter.