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Romney Campaign Press Release - What They're Saying About President Obama's Disappointing DNC Speech: Part II

September 07, 2012


"Dull And Pedestrian" ... "Very Canned" ... "Lowered The Bar" ... "Warmed-Over Rehash" ... "Did Not Deliver"

The Washington Post's Rachael Weiner: "Did Not Match The Soaring Rhetoric Of 2008..." "President Obama gave an acceptance speech that did not match the soaring rhetoric of 2008 — nor did it try to." (Rachael Weiner, "Obama Asks For More Time," The Washington Post, 9/6/12)

The Washington Post: "President Obama Needs More Than Words To Overcome Problems" (The Washington Post, 9/6/12)

The Daily Beast's Michael Tomasky: "Let's Be Blunt. Barack Obama Gave A Dull And Pedestrian Speech Tonight..." "Let's be blunt. Barack Obama gave a dull and pedestrian speech tonight, with nary an interesting thematic device, policy detail, or even one turn of phrase." (Michael Tomasky, "Obama: A Pedestrian And Overconfident Speech," The Daily Beast, 9/7/12)

Political Commentator Charles Krauthammer: "One Of The Emptiest Speeches I Have Ever Heard On A National Stage." "Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer slammed the address as 'one of the emptiest speeches I have ever heard on a national stage.'" (Kevin Cirilli, "TV Pundits Split On Obama Speech," Politico, 9/6/12)

Democrat Strategist James Carville: "Probably Not The Best Speech Of The Convention." "Democratic strategist James Carville said other speeches this week 'probably' topped Obama's. 'This was probably not the best speech of the convention,' he said on CNN." (Kevin Cirilli, "TV Pundits Split On Obama Speech," Politico, 9/6/12)

CNN's David Gergen: "Lowered The Bar ... Not Promising As Much." "Political consultant David Gergen said on CNN that Obama 'lowered the bar' for the public's expectations of him. 'It's a different aura. It's a more dignified speech, but he's scarred. He's more mature and he's not promising as much,' said Gergen." (Kevin Cirilli, "TV Pundits Split On Obama Speech," Politico, 9/6/12)

Republican Strategist Ari Fleischer: "Same Old ... Same Speech." "At CNN, former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer labeled the address a 'hit and a miss.' He criticized Obama for giving what he said was the 'same old... same speech' that he said contained 'many of the promises' from four years ago.'" (Katherine Fung, "Barack Obama Media Reactions: Pundits Have Mixed Feelings About DNC Address," The Huffington Post, 9/7/12)

Fox News' Chris Wallace: "We Heard No Specific Plans ... Very Canned." "Some of Baier's colleagues echoed that sentiment. 'In fact, we heard a lot of goals tonight, but we heard no specific plans ... a lot of the things he did talk about were very canned,' Chris Wallace said." (Katherine Fung, "Barack Obama Media Reactions: Pundits Have Mixed Feelings About DNC Address," The Huffington Post, 9/7/12)

The Atlantic's Molly Ball: "Didn't Do Anything Special ... A Warmed-Over Rehash Of His Stump Speech." "And then President Obama got up and just sort of didn't do anything special. The president, that legendary orator, vaunted crowd-mover, well-known sweeper-away of audiences in general and political conventions in particular, gave a warmed-over rehash of his stump speech, right down to the exit music, Bruce Springsteen's 'We Take Care of Our Own,' that generally plays him out at campaign events." (Molly Ball, "Obama's Convention Anticlimax," The Atlantic, 9/7/12)

Real Clear Politics' Sean Trende: "Sometimes A Guy Just Has An Off Night." (Twitter.com, 9/7/12)

Time's Joe Klein: "But He Did Not Close The Deal. The Speech Disappointed Me, And I'm Not Quite Sure Why." (Joe Klein, "Obama Argues For A Second Term Without Closing The Deal," Time, 9/7/12)

New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait: "The Speech Came, By And Large, As A Disappointment To Political Journalists And Other Campaign Junkies." (Jonathan Chait, "A Transformed Obama Is A Fighter, Not A Dreamer," New York Magazine, 9/7/12)

Business Insider: "Barack Obama's Speech Is Already Getting A Brutal Verdict" (Business Insider, 9/7/12)

The Washington Examiner's Tim Carney: "A Bit Pedestrian. It Sounded Like A Regular Stump Speech." "I'm not alone in seeing President Obama's renomination speech tonight as a bit pedestrian. It sounded like a regular stump speech." (Tim Carney, "A Pedestrian Speech Greeted As A Barn-Burning Sermon," The Washington Examiner, 9/6/12)

Tampa Tribune: "President Obama On Thursday Night Urged The Nation To Rally Behind His Worthy Goals, But He Didn't Make A Compelling Case That He Could Lead The Nation To Accomplish Them." (Editorial, "Obama's Wish List Lacks Action Plan," Tampa Tribune, 9/7/12)

San Diego Union Tribune: "He Couldn't Do It." "But last night, when Barack Obama took center stage in Charlotte, N.C., and had to make the case either that his first term was far better than most people thought or that his second term would be far better than his first, he couldn't do it." (Editorial, "No Sale: Obama Can't Obscure Gap Between His Record And His Rhetoric," San Diego Union Tribune, 9/6/12)

The Daily Beast's Peter Beinart: "The Speech Lacked Was A Coherent Explanation Of The Nightmare This Country Has Gone Through For The Last Four Years." "On paper, he did both things. But what the speech lacked was a coherent explanation of the nightmare this country has gone through for the last four years." (Peter Beinart, "Obama Acceptance Speech Goes Vague Instead Of Getting Tough," The Daily Beast, 9/7/12)

The Washington Post: "Once Again Promising Hard Truths That He Did Not Deliver." "But the attractiveness of that vision made all the more frustrating Mr. Obama's refusal to fill in any substance, his once again promising hard truths that he did not deliver." (Editorial, "Mr. Obama's Hazy Agenda For A Second Term," The Washington Post, 9/7/12)

Bloomberg's Josh Barro: "Did Not Give The Sense That He Has Been Working Tirelessly To Grow The Economy ... The Speech Sounded Really Odd..." "Obama did not give the sense that he has been working tirelessly to grow the economy as a whole, or that he was fixated on the fact that overall employment has not been rising fast enough. ... But overall, the speech sounded really odd coming from someone who is already president." (Josh Barro, "Obama's Lame, Unconvincing Speech," Bloomberg, 9/7/12)

Charlotte Observer: "Obama Failed Biggest Test: Saying What Will Be Different" (Charlotte Observer, 9/7/12)

Time's Michael Grunwald: "I Didn't Get That Speech. It Felt Subdued And Clichéd." "I'm not on President Obama's payroll, no matter what Stephen Colbert says, so I can say this without fear of being fired: I didn't get that speech. It felt subdued and clichéd." (Michael Grunwald, "A Tough Slog: Obama Asks America to Go On Hope," Time, 9/7/12)

Boston Globe's Scot Leigh: "Didn't Soar Above The Clouds... What He Didn't Do Was Outline A Clear Or Compelling Way Forward." "Barack Obama didn't soar above the clouds Thursday night. His acceptance speech wasn't the magic carpet ride he offered as a candidate in 2008. ... What he didn't do was outline a clear or compelling way forward." (Scot Leigh, "Obama Didn't Offer A Clear Way Forward," Boston Globe, 9/7/12)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - What They're Saying About President Obama's Disappointing DNC Speech: Part II Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/302554

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