Tag Archives: Biden

Biden the Gridiron Champ

Reviews are in from this weekend’s Gridiron Dinner, and despite some grumbling (too long, too predictable, the president shoulda been there), it sounds like there were plenty of laughs served up — especially from Vice President Joe Biden, who began: “Axelrod really wanted me to do this on teleprompter — but I told him I’m […]

Obama Strikes Out on Leno

President Obama rolled an ugly gutter ball during his Tonight Show appearance. ABC’s Jake Tapper explains: The first appearance by a sitting president on “The Tonight Show” may well end up being the last. President Obama, in his taping with Jay Leno Thursday afternoon, attempted to yuk it up with the funnyman, and ended up insulting the […]

The Comic Stylings of Biden and Obama

In an earlier post, I mentioned the trouble comedians were having coming up with a funny trope to use to poke fun at President Obama. The experts’ conclusion seems to be that Vice President Biden is the fattest target for humor in the Administration. Now we see the story developing further. It’s not just Biden, see, but Obama’s […]

No More “Great Moments”

Mike Allen’s Politico Playbook alerts us to this AP article about the end of David Letterman’s “Great Moments in Presidential Speeches.” In case you’ve missed it, the bit contrasts clips of grand historical presidential rhetoric (“The only thing we have to fear…”; “Ask not…”) with clips from current presidential speeches in which George Bush is […]

Thanks for the Memories

Storytelling is an indispensable part of successful speeches — from meta-narratives that join a speaker and audience in common cause, to humorous stories that build rapport and ease, to illustrative vignettes that bring to life key concepts or ideas. Yesterday, Senator Joe Biden’s emotional farewell to the U.S. Senate was a terrific collection of personal […]