Althouse: "The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances of the man..."

January 15, 2013

"The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances of the man..."

"... who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States."

46 comments:

chickelit said...: It was "a perfect gem"; 1/15/13, 1:34 PM
DADvocate said...: The address of the Gettysburg Address is:
National Cemetery Dr
Gettysburg National Military Park,
Gettysburg, PA 17325; 1/15/13, 1:35 PM
edutcher said...: One of the few who appreciated what Lincoln said was Edward Everett, the main speaker, who spoke for something like 2 hours.

He congratulated Abe and told him he had said better and more successfully in a few words what he had failed to do in many.

PS B Bunny (dressed as A Lincoln): What's this I hear about you whipping slaves?

Y Sam (as confederate officer): B-b-but..

B Bunny: But me no buts. Look me up at my Gettysburg address.; 1/15/13, 1:46 PM
wildswan said...: White privilege - who talks? a dead white man

Gender bias - "our fathers brought forth" "that all men are created equal" "the brave men"

American uniqueness - "new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition the all men are created equal"

Church and state mingled - "That this nation under God"

Freedom isn't free - "That cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion"

Safe to say that under present day liberalism there will be no such speech.; 1/15/13, 1:54 PM
chickelit said...: Safe to say that under present day liberalism there will be no such speech.

Yet we have the relentless comparisons...; 1/15/13, 1:57 PM
Big Mike said...: (1) 19th century Democrats didn't care for Lincoln much more than 20th century Democrats cared for Reagan.

(2) By 19th century oratorical standards Lincoln's speech was too short by about an hour and not nearly bombastic enough.; 1/15/13, 2:03 PM
Big Mike said...: One of the few who appreciated what Lincoln said was Edward Everett, the main speaker, who spoke for something like 2 hours.

I've always wondered whether Everett was just toadying up to the President. There's no indication that Everett or any other noted 19th orator tried to be as concise as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in their later orations.; 1/15/13, 2:05 PM
Larry J said...: "The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances of the man..."

Yeah, I feel that way about Obama every day. It's even worse since the last election.; 1/15/13, 2:10 PM
MountainMan said...: I'm with Larry J. I was surprised where the link took me. I thought it was going to be about Obama's Monday press conference.; 1/15/13, 2:17 PM
Anonymous said...: Lincoln was frequently caricatured as a baboon by the newspapers of his day.; 1/15/13, 2:18 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/15/13, 2:18 PM
Tim said...: Few politicians today could sincerely deliver Lincoln's Gettysburg Address; none of them Democrats.; 1/15/13, 2:33 PM
Tank said...: A favorite AA prank. Invitation to people to comment without clicking through.; 1/15/13, 2:35 PM
dbp said...: Papers that were Democratic panned the speech while Republican ones praised it.

Showing again that Democrats have been wrong about pretty much everything for going-on 150 years now.; 1/15/13, 2:45 PM
David said...: Imagine a President just sitting there for several hours while others take center stage.; 1/15/13, 2:48 PM
Kirby Olson said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/15/13, 2:57 PM
Kirby Olson said...: I mean what do you do on that day? I never understood what you were supposed to do on MLK day. Like on Halloween you don a mask and on Christmas you give a gift and on St. Pat's day you wear green. What exactly do you do on MLK day, but especially in Mississippi on King-Lee Day? Any suggestions?; 1/15/13, 2:58 PM
Larry J said...: Tank said...
A favorite AA prank. Invitation to people to comment without clicking through.

Yeah. I did click through to read that the statement was about Lincoln. It still reflects my opinion of Obama.; 1/15/13, 2:59 PM
Michael K said...: Lincoln hated the name "Honest Abe" and Hay and Nicolay called him "The Tycoon." Many of the soldiers in the Army of the Potomac called him "Father Abraham."

Partisanship was every bit as nasty then although Lincoln was competent, in contrast to some recent examples.; 1/15/13, 2:59 PM
David said...: King-Lee day?

Kumbaya!; 1/15/13, 3:00 PM
Wince said...: The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

It's not that Lincoln, a politician, had no ego.

He just didn't have a need to feed it so copiously.; 1/15/13, 3:03 PM
AllenS said...: One thing that you don't need to do on MLK day, is walk out to your mailbox.; 1/15/13, 3:04 PM
MadisonMan said...: I would have written the cheek of every American must tingle with shame as they read.

I wouldn't use the word tingle either. Kind of old-fashioned, which should clue you into the subject.; 1/15/13, 3:07 PM
Clyde said...: The truly amazing thing is that the other speaker spoke for TWO HOURS. A century and a half later, his name is forgotten. Lincoln's three-paragraph speech remains a classic.

Brevity is the soul of wit, as Shakespeare noted.; 1/15/13, 3:11 PM
edutcher said...: Kirby Olson said...

I mean what do you do on that day? I never understood what you were supposed to do on MLK day. Like on Halloween you don a mask and on Christmas you give a gift and on St. Pat's day you wear green. What exactly do you do on MLK day, but especially in Mississippi on King-Lee Day? Any suggestions?

Whistle "Dixie"?

Maybe "Carry Me Back To Ol' Virginny"?

MLK Day was nothing but an attempt by Teddy Kennedy to play the race card on people since it de-holidayized Veterans' Day.

No other holiday honors an ethnic group. (St Patrick's Day, like Cinco De Quatro, is optional from place to place); 1/15/13, 3:16 PM
Alex said...: Thomas Jefferson was the ultimate American enigma.; 1/15/13, 3:16 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Talk of Lincoln usually means war.

From the affable president?; 1/15/13, 3:26 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Oh, its MLK Day?

Would not know that by listening to our president.; 1/15/13, 3:27 PM
ricpic said...: Spielberg's Lincoln took a hit at the Golden Globes where Argo won Best Picture. I'm afraid there will be too many old Stalinists voting at the Oscars for a repeat upset.; 1/15/13, 3:34 PM
traditionalguy said...: Lincoln always the wise trial lawyer knew his jury was the families of the dead soldiers and not the egos of Chautauqua speakers.; 1/15/13, 3:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Don't worry, the Americans who read know who he was and those who don't read, can't. Ergo, whatever the man says will not tingle any American with shame, it will still tingle up the legs of some third rate TV heck.; 1/15/13, 4:32 PM
Chip S. said...: Over/under on the percentage of commencement speakers at Gettysburg College who referred to their speech as their Gettysburg Address?

All entries must specify the precise number of 9s after the decimal point.; 1/15/13, 4:33 PM
Unknown said...: Usually I feel a wave of dread when I read about politics.
I knew it couldn't be about Obama because there was a reference to intelligent foreigners.; 1/15/13, 4:45 PM
Cedarford said...: Big Mike said...
(1) 19th century Democrats didn't care for Lincoln much more than 20th century Democrats cared for Reagan.

==================
Well, 19th century Democrats and the 20th century Republicans they became...
like the idiots Goldwater and DeLay and Dubya.
Dubya - (Who famously and cluelessly said "There is nothing worse than a leader who kills his own people! I weep for the freedom-seeking Kurds and noble Shiites Saddam like other tyrants...killed." )

Lincoln benefited by certain events.
1. The Union won so he was the victorious war leader that most societies in history - typically revere.
2. He got martyred.
3. Later, it became more evident that the United States was more successful at home and abroad, because we were not fragmented militarily or economically.

As for Reagan, we tend to over-revere some Presidents - and overdemonize certain other Presidents.

JFK, Truman, Wilson, Reagan, and Clinton, Obama are over-revered and their reps will fall with the passage of time.

Nixon's rep will rise, same with HW Bush.; 1/15/13, 4:46 PM
Ctmom4 said...: I too, immediately thought of Obama. I thought it must be a link to the Guardian or a Canadian paper where you can sometimes find the truth.; 1/15/13, 6:11 PM
tiger said...: From Cedarford: Dubya - (Who famously and cluelessly said "There is nothing worse than a leader who kills his own people! I weep for the freedom-seeking Kurds and noble Shiites Saddam like other tyrants...killed.")

Give it a rest, asshole.

Obama's list of slips is a farking mile long starting with saying there are '57 states' and that he bowls 'like he's in the Special Olympics'.

Get back to us after Barry releases his college transcripts; numerous people would LOVE to see his grade point average.

Now as for the article: Thanks, Professor! Great article about a magnificent speech.
1) The Civil War showed a picture purporting to show Lincoln starting to sit after the speech. Ken Burns said the same thing, that it took photogs so long to set up and what's his name speech ran for 2 hours that they figure Abe's speech would run long, too, to they weren't ready.

2) Great speech, all of it. The part that always gets me is the line about 'the last full measure of devotion'. Wow.; 1/15/13, 7:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Hmmm. Ann is sending the secret messages again.

"....Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic."

"The cheek of every American must tingle with shame..."

Today is a very naughty day: oh yes, you've been a VERY naughty day.; 1/15/13, 7:28 PM
Anonymous said...: If a later post this evening includes the phrase "red-handed" I will herald myself as a visionary.

Of course, by pointing this out in advance Ann will go out of her way to NOT use the phrase. Again: naughty.

I know how these things work.; 1/15/13, 8:29 PM
Anonymous said...: I tend to go off on tangents. Googled the word "spanking" -- it brings up Wikipedia first: obvious.

The next is the NY Times article "A Spanking Fetish is Not Revealed Easily" (hence, writing about it in the NY Times).

Third is "An Introduction to Spanking - Ask Men", with the lead quote "Virtually every man on Earth has had the desire to spank his woman."

You have to reach number four to arrive at a link actually involving the spanking of a child as punishment: "Over the Desk Spanking Stories" (although the title by itself does seem to have an 'office-after-hours' vibe).

Americans can be very naughty, it seems....

I wonder -- if Google was there in the Fifties -- how much these results might have changed.

My guess: not much.; 1/15/13, 8:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Hah! I just realized the post on the pollen art connects: pollen = bee = stinging.

Red Hand is coming.; 1/15/13, 8:50 PM
Anonymous said...: "In all these cases, and many others, liberals take positions that make them look good and feel good..."

So liberals value the aesthetics while spanking. Probably has to do with the angle of the knee.; 1/15/13, 8:55 PM
Anonymous said...: How would F. Scott Fitzgerald handle a spanking, sentence-wise? Did Daisy wish to be spanked, or was it only strenuously implied?

A cross reference to "Tender Is The Night" might be necessary.; 1/15/13, 9:04 PM
Anonymous said...: I am not sure how the Language Movement of Bangladesh applies. Working on it.; 1/15/13, 9:11 PM
Anonymous said...: "inflicted on Jessica Chastain, chastising Chastain "...

So: is Ann implying a dress choice so odious it practically begs for a spanking? Because that's how I'm reading it.; 1/15/13, 9:17 PM
Anonymous said...: "We know that all kinds of bad things can happen to somebody that gets to that level of intoxication"

"I was drunk, I was confused, your butt asked for it."; 1/15/13, 9:23 PM
Anonymous said...: "Many more women than men are diagnosed as depressed, and depression was associated with "rumination, the natural instinct to dwell on the sources of problems rather than their possible solutions.""

Oh, I think we all know what the possible solution is.; 1/15/13, 9:27 PM