The President's Speech - Andy Kessler

[question everything]

At his first press conference and at last week’s address to Congress, I noticed (most didn’t) that President Biden experienced a few blockages, or disfluencies in his speech. In other words, he stuttered. I’m writing this not out of malice, but with enormous respect. I know because I have sons who stutter. I found out my wife had stuttered during a call telling her mother she was pregnant. Yes, it’s genetic—and life-changing.

(snip)

As a listener, you learn to be patient. We hired speech therapists. None were effective. Then we heard about an in-ear device that delays incoming sounds and shifts their frequency, providing voice feedback to trick your brain not to stutter. We eagerly met a representative who fitted a prototype in my then-fifth-grade son’s ear, fiddled with some settings and asked my son to speak. No stuttering! Amazing. Excited, we ordered a custom-fit version immediately. We hassled our son to wear it at home and at school, but sadly it never worked. He would complain that it sounded like his younger brother whining in his ear all day. Fair enough; his brother is annoying. Eventually someone “accidentally” stepped on it.

(snip)

As a parent, you’ll try anything. We attended seminars and conferences. One conference brought a group of inner-city teenagers with stutters of varying severity to put on a play. My son took to them immediately and hung around with them all weekend. It was very emotional to watch the group perform. Afterward, I spoke to a group of these teenagers and complimented them on their performances. One turned to me and, with many blockages, explained how they had practiced, and then said, without stuttering, “Actually, it feels like I’m on a stage every day of my life.”

I was surprised to learn of many famous actors whose style may have come from their disfluencies. Marilyn Monroe stuttered, hence her breathy voice. James Earl Jones —Darth Vader himself—went into acting to help with his stuttering. He developed his singsong voice to avoid blockages. Samuel L. Jackson has his distinctive style. Bruce Willis said, “A big part of my sense of humor came out of my stuttering.” Yippee Ki-Yay. Rowan “Mr. Bean” Atkinson admitted, “When I play a character other than myself, the stammering disappears. That may have been some of the inspiration for pursuing the career I did.” Carly Simon suggests stutterers “can’t stammer when they sing.” Maybe that explains Elvis Presley. And Kendrick Lamar. And I’m only scratching the surface: Denzel Washington, Emily Blunt, Harvey Keitel, Nicole Kidman, Channing Tatum, Adam Sandler.

(snip)

Winston Churchill would practice his speeches, pacing back and forth in his room, until he could give them without disfluency. And King George VI, movingly captured in the movie “The King’s Speech,” helped provide national confidence with his 1939 “in this grave hour” radio address. Many leaders stuttered: General Electric’s Jack Welch, Citicorp’s Walter Wriston, heck, even Moses (Exodus 4:10-13)... I often disagree with Mr. Biden’s policies, but I greatly respect his personal strength. I think he should hold more press conferences. When the president pauses or changes his word flow, it probably isn’t dementia; he’s working to find a word he won’t block. Cut him some slack. Remember, stutterers are on stage every day of their lives. Be patient.

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-presidents-speech-11619974402 (subscription)

[catrose]

1. I did notice the pauses and stammers, I cheer for him every time, that he's overcome so much

And achieved so much.

[bahboo]

2. um, "probably isn't dementia"....

no...it isn't dementia. A blight on an otherwise fine article...

[Walleye]

3. He also pauses sometimes to find the least offensive way to say something

Having watched him over the years sometimes he used to shoot from the hip. Now with maturity and gravitas he slows down and chooses his words.