What happened to Statemen?

[diodetriode]

There are several threads that include post about current politicians, their vacuity and their inability to say anything meaningful. maybe Obama will change that in time, but he has yet to pronounce any anything really meaningful.
What happened to those great orators of the past?
I am really appalled by the standard of current British politics.

Here is my idea of what may have been said had Gordon Brown been Prime Minister in 1940, instead of Winston Churchill

CHURCHILL
Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old

NEW LABOUR (Brown)
While the situation in Europe has been exaggerated and we have ongoing discussions with all of the major players, we have to respect that other countries have different ways of doing things. I will be having meetings with cabinet colleagues to determine a course of action immediately after we return from our 82 day summer recess.
We would like to advise the public to reconsider any holidays that they have planned in France, or indeed anywhere on the continent as there is the possibility of some increased military activity in the area that may even include British forces. The same consideration should be given to air and sea travel, visits to beaches, fields and, streets and hills. If in doubt, people should consult the appropriate Departments of Health and Safety in their area. We would like to warn tourists from Europe that we will frown on any anti-social behaviour.
I will be calling for an impact study from the Planning Commission to determine the effect on the population of reduced food supplies and the potential negative advantages of hosting a large number of our German friends and their military equipment in Britain. Whatever the result of such a study, I am confident that I can always gain the support of the US President, who is a very good friend of mine, by the way............................................... .............................

CHURCHILL
The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

NEW LABOUR (Brown)
On behalf of the Government and the electorate and most people who are recognised as being included, I would like to thank the hard work of our Servicemen. We should of course remember that this government has given them its unflinching support by providing all of the equipment deemed suitable for their task and any success they have is due to the close co-operation of all members of the civil service, party workers, traffic wardens, police, fire brigade, ambulance drivers, staff of the NAAFI and most of all, Me. While it is recognised that they have a somewhat dangerous job, the MoD and other government departments are taking all measures to minimise the risks to our brave airmen by reducing the amount of time they have to spend in the air by not providing too many aircraft: this also reduces the overall expense of equipment and allows more tax revenue to be spent on vital anti-smoking measures and programmes to combat obesity in the young. Regarding this high cost of the current War, it is clear that never will so much be owed by so many for so long for so few advantages which of course all the fault of the previous government.

[Oscar]

Lets be honest here: Had ww2 not broke out no one would have remembered Churchill as a 'great stateman', if at all. You cannot make the comparison between the two.

[tankie]

Lets be honest here: Had ww2 not broke out no one would have remembered Churchill as a 'great stateman', if at all. You cannot make the comparison between the two.

Thats true ref ww2 , however cometh the hour ,cometh the MAN and the rest is as they say , history , , but who is to say the Winny would not have been noticed anyway .;)

[diodetriode]

Lets be honest here: Had ww2 not broke out no one would have remembered Churchill as a 'great stateman', if at all. You cannot make the comparison between the two.

It's supposed to be a dig at modern politicians with their doublespeak and inability to talk straight. (probably too many speech-writers who sacrifice the content for a sound-bite, forgetting that all of the Great Speeches of history actually have sound-bites--the memorable phrase). Churchill said that "Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all".
As a schoolboy, we used to have fun re-writing passages from the Bible and Shakespeare in 'civil-servicese'. Now 'leaders' do it in all seriousness to cover up the fact that they really have nothing sensible to say.
You may not watch the TV debates and discussions of British Politicos; in my opinion they have hit an all-time low in honesty and ability and have a golden rule of NEVER answering a straight question.

While you are right that WW2 was a great stage for a lot of politicos and film and radio took them to a bigger audience than ever before prior to Television cutting them all down to size, Churchill would probably have counted as a Statesman/great speech-maker anyway based on his earlier career. Remember, he had held every great Office of State before he was 45 and had been a national hero and a national villan a dozen times prior to becoming prime minister in 1940. Brown is a leader during the worst financial crisis since either the 1930s or the sack of Rome, depending on whom you listen to, was a major contributor to the mess of the UK banking system and is partially responsible for the military's position in Afghanistan and Iraq and all he can do is assure everyone that he is and was right and any problem is someone else's fault. Not that any of the other politicians around today is likely to be different.

[gunnut]

Some people regard Obama as a great orator, able to induce "a thrill" running up the legs of some journalists.

I personally think the man can string together a coherent sentence without his teleprompters.