I’m not a Democrat, but I have always admired and respected Bill Clinton’s rhetorical power, a power on display again last night in Charlotte. In a time when few politicians are persuasive, Clinton stands out even more.
James Fallows, writing in the Atlantic, in a post entitled, Why Bill Clinton’s Speeches Work,” posits that it’s
Because he treats listeners as if they are smart.
That is the significance of “They want us to think” and “The strongest argument is” and “The arithmetic says one of three things must happen” and even “Now listen to me here, this is important.” He is showing that he understands the many layers of logic and evidence and positioning and emotion that go into political discussion — and, more important, he takes for granted that listeners can too.
This is true about Clinton’s perspective, and about people: he treats people as if they are smart, and it works because they are smart.
People easily see through dodgy claims and shoddy reasoning. Local politics, local reporting, etc. fails when politicians, bureaucrats, and reporters futilely insist that sow’s ears are silk purses, and naked emperors are resplendently dressed.
Perhaps there’s an implicit compact between a few that they’ll brook each other’s mediocrity as the price for inclusion in a tiny social circle.
If so, it’s a deal that normal, thinking people would (and should) readily reject.
Clinton’s approach is the right one.