THE SHOUTING PARTY
July 29, 2004

by Joe Sobran

     After listening to two nights of the Democrats' 
Boston convention, I thought of the expression "It's all 
over but the shouting." This convention was almost all 
shouting.

     I'm writing on the final day; John Kerry will give 
his acceptance speech tonight. I'm going to take a wild 
stab and predict that he will shout too.

     He always does. Like his mentor Ted Kennedy, Kerry 
understands oratory as an assault on the audience's 
eardrums. Kerry's problem as a campaigner is said to be 
that he creates no excitement. I'd say his problem is 
that when he speaks, he seems to be the only one in the 
room who is excited. And you're not at all sure he means 
it.

     The Democrats, still aping the overrated John F. 
Kennedy, have never learned to lower their voices. They 
still don't realize that when you have a microphone, you 
don't have to yell every sentence. Or that when you make 
a speech, you should build slowly to a climax. Volume 
alone doesn't give the crowd a thrill; it may give them a 
headache. Most of the Democrats' speakers were would-be 
rabble-rousers who could hardly rouse their own rabble. 
Mere decibels don't turn cliches into eloquence.

     Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra were great recording 
artists -- as distinct from great singers -- because they 
realized that with the mike and amplification they could 
afford to sing softly, giving each word and note its own 
weight. Their understated styles made them sensationally 
popular.

     Franklin Roosevelt understood the principle and used 
radio to speak informally to a national audience with 
tremendous effect. He gave Fireside Chats, not Fireside 
Shouts.

     But this year, Democrat after Democrat blasted our 
ears with forced and false passion. The much-heralded 
John Edwards, a trial lawyer who seems to regard the 
American public as one gigantic hick jury, roared his own 
acceptance speech, inviting the crowd to roar back. 
Barack Obama, also a heralded newcomer to national 
politics, adopted the stentorian style of the occasion.

     One shining exception to this noisy monotony was the 
son of a Republican president. I disagreed with Ron 
Reagan, but I couldn't help enjoying listening to him. He 
spoke as if having a quiet conversation with reasonable 
people. His style is very different from his legendary 
father's, but he has the same gift for making you pay 
attention to what he says.

     So, oddly enough, does Teresa Heinz Kerry. Her 
husband could take lessons from her. In her own low-key 
speech -- by no means a great one -- she conveyed a 
simple personal warmth, in striking contrast to all the 
screeching partisan harpies who had preceded her. She 
spoke like someone who really listens to others. Nobody 
has ever said that of her husband, who, like Ted Kennedy, 
hardly seems to listen to himself.

     Mrs. Kerry didn't try to excite passion. She chose a 
tone of quiet sincerity that was far more effective than 
the prevailing hot-button demagoguery. As with young 
Reagan, I found myself hanging on every word. You can 
tell at once when a speaker respects the audience's 
intelligence.

     It's really that simple: Respect your audience, and 
try to earn their respect. John Kerry will never 
understand what his wife understands instinctively. He 
keeps trying to stir a passion he doesn't feel himself 
through sheer hortatory bellowing. The charge that he is 
"aloof" and "Brahmin" really means that everyone feels 
his insincerity. It's hard enough to endure someone who 
talks down to you. Kerry is worse: He shouts down to you.

     G.K. Chesterton defended Charles Dickens against the 
charge of literary demagoguery by saying that Dickens 
didn't just give the people what they wanted; he wanted 
what the people wanted. Kerry is trying to give us what 
we want, without seeming to want it himself.

     Kerry is running a strangely joyless campaign. The 
shouting masks a forced optimism. He has the air, and 
even the careworn face, of a deeply disappointed man. 
Even his smiles seem forced. He may yet win the 
presidency by default; but why does he want to be 
president? Does anyone know?

     None of the shouters at the Boston convention even 
began to touch the enigma of John Kerry. The real Kerry, 
if there is one, remains elusive. Many of his supporters 
spoke of his war record. But nobody suggested that he is 
a happy warrior.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read this column on-line at 
"http://www.sobran.com/columns/2004/040729.shtml".

Copyright (c) 2004 by the Griffin Internet 
Syndicate, www.griffnews.com. This column may not 
be published in print or Internet publications 
without express permission of Griffin Internet 
Syndicate. You may forward it to interested 
individuals if you use this entire page, 
including the following disclaimer:

"SOBRAN'S and Joe Sobran's columns are available 
by subscription. For details and samples, see 
http://www.sobran.com/e-mail.shtml, write 
PR@griffnews.com, or call 800-513-5053."