No Braying

If Hillary Clinton is smart, she won’t bray her acceptance speech tonight. This is what an older industry friend shared last night. She needs to be cool, calm, precise, confident. Allow her experience to speak for itself. “Spirited” and “exuberant” are fine, but no braying. Braying is bothersome — pretty much everyone agrees on that. The transportational Democratic National Convention highs peaked last night with Barack Obama (pretty close to magnificent), Joe Biden (a free man in Paris), Michael Bloomberg (brilliant). Now we have to listen to Hillary. Just don’t bray — that’s all I’m saying.

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  • Pete Miesel

    Based on the picture you used, you don’t see confident.

    This is her chance. If she ends up actually winning, history will say that Obama and Biden were the ones who carried her over the finish line.

    • Michael Gebert

      Stop mansplaining the election.

  • nodirectionhome

    Shes incapable of not braying – she only works on two levels, shrill or pandering; neither of which come off as natural, but rather calculated. If Mook was smart they’d have her study Chaplins speech pattern in The Great Dictator; that’s the sweet spot which she needs to hit tonight.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J7GY1Xg6X20

  • The Bandsaw Vigilante

    “Trump Sick And Tired Of Mainstream Media Always Trying To Put His Words Into Some Sort Of Context”:

    http://www.theonion.com/article/trump-sick-and-tired-mainstream-media-always-tryin-53375

  • B.Dog

    I’ve been saying this for months — Why can’t her people get Clooney, Streep, Sorkin, and Spielberg (or better, Fincher) all in a room with Hillary? Work on the delivery. Work on the cadence and the vocal tone. Tell her not to get too shrilly or over-excited. Be forceful and confident (like you said.) Seriously, she has the world’s greatest professionals at her disposal. Use them!

    • Mr. F.

      You’re saying this as if she doesn’t already have capable and experienced professionals on her staff telling her the exact same thing.

    • otto

      The truth is that very few people have mellifluous voices when they’re raised (as candidates often must to be heard above crowds). Even Obama has had to learn to keep the bass in his voice when he raises it (and he is very good at that level).

      Everyone sounds good on NPR because they speak as though they’re sitting in a library cubicle. When Clinton is in close quarters she sounds fine.

      • B.Dog

        This. Can you speak to her, please. She’s great at interviews and small intimate settings, like town hall stuff. I think she’ll be okay in the debates. But it’s when she gets to the big venue events, like tonight, that it goes bad. Exactly like you said — use the diaphragm and keep that bass level strong when raising your voice.

  • bfm

    Honestly, this sort of comment really irritates me. It’s sexism. Almost every prominent female politician gets criticized for the way she speaks. Men occasionally do, but not nearly so much. As Obama said yesterday, she is supremely qualified for the job, so in lieu of being able to criticize her in that regard people nitpick about the way she speaks. Abraham Lincoln spoke oddly. Did it matter? Jefferson was a lousy public speaker.

    • Mr. F.

      “Abraham Lincoln spoke oddly. Did it matter?”

      It did to John Wilkes Booth.

      • Hardcore Henry V

        Andrew Johnson (Tom Hanks): “Abe, would it be possible for you to perhaps…speak a little less oddly?”

        Abe Lincoln (Mark Rylance): “Would it help?”

    • Michael Gebert

      “Abraham Lincoln spoke oddly. Did it matter?”

      Well, he pretty much made his entire name because of his speaking abilities (Lincoln-Douglas debates, Cooper Union speech, etc.) so it mattered enough to him to overcome the initial impression he gave as a hick from the sticks, which tended to be pretty harsh.

    • dkrat

      I think Howard Dean would beg to differ. I get the point (“Braying” may not be the best description), but in the era of 24 hour news, rhythm, tone, and volume matter in a candidate’s speech. Al Gore was mocked for his speech patterns (along with his debate sighs), and Howard Dean’s yell sank his campaign (is he officially out of the doghouse yet?). Mitch McConnell’s voice makes my skin crawl, and I will be happy when I never have to hear his voice again. When Hillary Clinton tries to be exuberant, it can come off as a harsh yelling rather than a passionate statement. It is specific to her, and not a gender issue (in my opinion). Condoleeza Rice, Janet Reno, Madeleine Albright, and Sonia Sotomayor can all speak loud and forcefully, without it devolving into a harsh scream. Barrack Obama is the master of the “loud calm” voice. Hillary Clinton is best in her stern (not screaming) voice. During her recent VP announcement, my daughter turned and asked me “why is she yelling”?

  • MillstreamPigworker

    Truly you are human feces. Say hi to Milo.

  • otto

    You give Bloomberg a pass but complain about Clinton’s voice? On form alone, his speech was halting, his voice has a terrible timbre, and he looked at times very uncomfortable. Again, as with weight and appearance, you seem to be judging men and women by different standards.

  • MovieAwardsPlus

    Its great Jeff that you are your own boss because you would have been fired years ago for your “Im gonna say what I want to say” sexist comments. Gawker is on to you. http://gawker.com/brave-male-film-critic-shares-thoughts-on-how-he-would-1784483193

    • http://www.jessecrall.com Jesse Crall

      As far as threats go, “Gawker is onto you” rates about as well as “I’m telling mom on you.”

      • Hardcore Henry V

        Seems to me like the latter at least poses the possibility of having serious repercussions (depending, of course, on YoMama).

    • Jeff

      Wait you mean the site currently in bankruptcy that makes most of its money complaining about things on the Internet. Bummer. Ps Gawker and Jezebel have been “on to him” for years and half these scandalous posts drive up traffic so it’s worth the “hate.”

    • http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/ Jeffrey Wells

      I’m not saying anything sexist. Her manner of delivery can be a problem, depending on the venue. The braying can be awful.

    • http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/ Jeffrey Wells

      I’m aware that if the banshee bullies and p.c. goose-steppers could take my head off and feed it to the wolves, they would do so in a New York minute. And all for saying (a) if I were Kristen Stewart I would have affairs with foxier women and (b) Hillary brays when she addresses large crowds.

    • Mr. F.

      MovieAwardsPlus: “They said the post is a bit sexist.”
      Wells: “Well, so what? What’s wrong with being sexy?”
      MAP: “Sex-IST, Jeffrey.”

    • Michael Gebert

      Well, yeah, the fact that he’s frank and not some corporate line-toer is why we read him, yeah.

      (Uh-oh, Trump parallel on the horizon…)

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCrSVkrZZoM Mr. Sunset Terra Cotta

    Clinton called, she said go ahead and give your support to Stein. Please.

  • austin888

    Actually she did pretty damn good tonight. Got most of her points across once she settled into the speech about stuff beyond her roots, etc., and into the agenda. She also took on Trump quite nicely. I think the Dems need to keep needling him on all the people who’ve worked for him over the years and got stiffed by the guy as well as the pointed fact that his products usually seem to be produced not in America but in other countries. Not too much braying, if that’s what you want to call it. She’s never going to be a great orator but, then, neither is Trump by several hundred miles.

    • Michael Gebert

      “Got most of her points across”

      Jesus, she spoke for an hour, I would hope so.

      Obviously I’m not in the market for what she’s selling, but I can’t imagine anyone who listened to that whole thing and wished for more of it. You’ll certainly get more and more and more of it, as a substitute for ever holding press conferences.

  • ghostraider72

    Well, she killed it. Even a lot of conservatives agree. She’ll get a good bounce out of this which should carry her to the debates, where I fully expect her to demolish Trump.

    • Joe.Leydon

      I predict there will be only one debate — the first one, where he will either (a) get his ass handed to him, or (b) get baited into saying something that will be, as I have posted elsewhere, his Dead Zone moment. Either way, he will bail on the next 2.

      • Michael Gebert

        Right, because he’s no good at TV and she’s so good at spontaneous moments.

        • Joe.Leydon

          Excuse me, but what color is the sun on your world? Trump’s shtick works in prime time only when he’s smacking down lightweights at GOP debates, or firing people on his lame-ass (and scripted) “reality” TV show. Or when he’s batting softballs tossed his way by TV reporters who fear that if they ever really call Trump on his crap, right-wingers will piss and moan about their “bias.” Every time Trump gets challenged, he goes into his whiny little bitch mode. Never mind Hillary – Megyn Freakin’ Kelly got under his skin. And lest we forget: Go back to the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner, where he practically broke down and cried while Obama zinged him. And then check out the interviews he gave during the days afterward, when he complained about how mean Obama was to him.

          Do you really think Hillary won’t know what buttons to push to make this guy lose it?

          And speaking of Hillary: After two rounds of Presidential campaign debates, yeah, she probably can handle spontaneous moments.

          • Joe.Leydon

            And this is what happens when Trump gets his little fee-fees hurt. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-i-wanted-to-hit-dnc-speakers

            • Michael Gebert

              And this is what happens when a young person asks Hillary a question:

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMegFe2GUp4

              The difference is, you’re trying to convince me there’s no question what will happen, and I’m saying, no one knows what will happen.

              • Joe.Leydon

                This I will grant you: Because both conventions were earlier than usual, there will be more time for all sorts of nasty surprises before Election Day. But I still say Hillary wins. In a way, this reminds me of the gubernatorial race in my beloved home state of Louisiana several years ago, when the spectacularly corrupt Edwin Edwards ran against David Duke. Edwards supporters popularized the slogan: “Vote for the crook. It’s important.” Edwards won. (Of course, he later wound up in prison — but that’s another story.)

          • Michael Gebert

            It’s absolutely true that he’s brittle and gettable.

            So is she. No one knows how that will turn out, but you’re whistling past the graveyard if you think it’s a lock for her.

            If she’s some super-genius with the media, why won’t she hold a press conference?

            • Magga

              I didn’t watch the whole 11 hour Benghazi showtrial, but she seemed to handle it

            • Joe.Leydon

              Actually, I do think it’s a lock for her. As I have said before: You don’t necessarily have to win an election — you can simply stay out of the way while your opponent loses. Almost every day, Trump does something to indicate he is unsuited temperamentally and intellectually to be POTUS. Ultimately, it won’t matter if people don’t trust Hillary if they do fear Trump.

  • scoots

    While she never actually ‘brayed’, she came close to ‘bray-adjacent’. Overall, a nice job.

  • goodvibe61

    Excellent job by Hillary tonight, and an outstanding job by everyone over the past 3 evenings. Everybody basically killed it. Fantastic job. It amazed me to watch the contrast over the past two weeks, with about none of the major Republicans of the past 20 years showing up at the RNC, and the whole crew showing up this week completely having Hillary’s back and dolloping out facts, which, I know, the other side never lets any fact get in the way of their personal reality.

  • Joe.Leydon

    Well, Jeff, looks like you and Brit Hume are on the same page. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/brit-hume-hillary-clinton-voice