The Speech

[JerryBaumchen 1,362]

Hi folks,

In the 1920's, a failed painter, military veteran stood up in a beer hall in Munich, Germany & started spouting off.  This lead to the Third Reich and the most devastating event of the 20th century, World War II.

Since I do not speak German, the little that I have heard of his speeches, I cannot grasp.  However, I have read many, many times that he was a great orator & could really get a crowd worked up.

In the evening of 23 Oct 1964, while driving from Portland, OR to Richland, WA to go to a parachute contest, I heard The Speech on the radio.  Once it was concluded, you just wanted to stop the car, get out & salute the nearest moon, star, whatever.  It was truly arousing.

IMO The Speech is what lead to the Reagan Presidency.  In his prior life, Reagan was a committed Democrat; he was also a former president of the Screen Actor's Guild, and a product of the Great Depression. 

In 1981, there was a fair amount of what Reagan stood for that I agreed with.  However, IMO he was trying to change 40+ yrs of legislation within 4 yrs; simply cannot be accomplished.

I've often thought of Ronald Reagan as an interesting person.  He was a great speaker when he had a script; he could get an audience applauding like never before.  However, the other side of him came out during his press conferences.  Here, he was a subdued person with almost no authority in his voice.

This link will take you to the 27 Oct 64 version of The Speech.  IMO reading it fails to instill in one the power that it had, you really needed to hear it.

A Time for Choosing Speech, October 27, 1964 | Ronald Reagan (reaganlibrary.gov)

My reason for posting this is because of how Donald Trump has an amazing ability to get his base up & rallying for him.  A lot of similarities to Reagan.

Thoughts?

Jerry Baumchen

[grimmie 186]

Both equally terrible.