Analysts Say Americans Too Dumbed Down to Understand Obama’s Oval Office Speech

www.cnn.com...

President Obama’s speech on the gulf oil disaster may have gone over the heads of many in his audience, according to an analysis of the 18-minute talk released Wednesday.

Tuesday night’s speech from the Oval Office of the White House was written to a 9.8 grade level, said Paul J.J. Payack, president of Global Language Monitor. The Austin, Texas-based company analyzes and catalogues trends in word usage and word choice and their impact on culture.

Though the president used slightly less than four sentences per paragraph, his 19.8 words per sentence “added some difficulty for his target audience,” Payack said.

www.cnn.com...

Barry Soetoro AKA Barack Obama is a JOKE. he goes up their and grandstanded saying "Ima kick some ass" referring to BP. BULL! BP was one o fhis biggest backers during the election and gave him millions. He claims that BP is not in charg. BULL! then why are they ordering around the Gov't?

This was as staged as it gets. We now know what the engineers where saying before as and after this happened. here are a few quotes
"Are you fu*%ing happy? Are you f&*king happy? The rig's on fire! I told you this was gonna happen."

Whoever was on the other end of the line was apparently trying to calm Harrell down. "I am f&%#ing calm, You realize the rig is burning?"

That about says it all.

Maybe too dumb to see past the political rhetoric and whargarble smack that is the indirect political lingo which works it's way into the remaining sheep's minds.

Maybe too dumb to know what will happen compared to what is said.

Maybe too dumb to see past the talk into the reality of what is happening.

Maybe, for most.

It is because of the catering to the lowest common denominator that we have political machinery that doesn't respect the people they pretend to represent.

Rather than uplift our people, we will continually encourage them to live down to the lowest expectation. Sad, sad, sad.

I love it when people who try to think and express themselves clearly are stigmatized by those who do not want us to think or express ourselves... it seems like they want to say "Just shut up and get back to work; or watch TV, or do anything that leaves us free to do as we please."

[edit on 17-6-2010 by Maxmars]

Dumb enough to keep paying "income taxes" without ever bothering to look at the income tax laws to make sure they are liable to begin with. Dumb enough to think that voting is a right instead of a privilege only belonging to certain citizens. Dumb enough to believe their "civil rights" are all that matter, and arrogant enough to dismiss the validity of natural inalienable rights. Dumb enough to think all they have to do is keep voting and this will fix the problem. Dumb enough to think that The Supreme Court has the right to tell them what is and what isn't a right.

Dumb enough to think the DMV has the right to tell them that driving is a privilege and not a right. Dumb enough to go along with every stupid regulation that comes down the pike, even those regulations not legislated by elected legislatures. Dumb enough to keep sending their children to public schools even after some smarmy public school teacher, (paid by taxes), threatens those parents with Child Protective Services if they don't medicate their children, or worse dumb enough to keep sending their children to public schools long after one of their children was either arrested for simply bringing a pocket knife to school, or scribbling on a desk.

Dumb enough to think the American Dream is about having a good job with benefits. Dumb enough to accept government entitlements at the expense of their own rights. Dumb enough to sign government contracts without even bothering to read them. Dumb enough to support this so called "war on drugs". Dumb enough to think auditing the Federal Reserve will somehow fix the banking problem, and dumb enough to keep doing business with the same banks they know full well are screwing them. Dumb enough to pull down their pants, bend over and take it, only to whine about it later.

trends in word usage and word choice and their impact on culture

So that's how we measure blatant lies now?

Brought to you from the same people that run our educational system.
They lower the bar for all just so that ONE can appear to be brighter than the rest.

Well I would comment but obviously I am too dumb to even understand it so I'd just be ranting and raving like a lunatic.
Cracks me up.

How condescending.

Obama gives a B.S. speech, the public recognizes it and it's summed up to the population being "dumbed down". Must be that government education they provide us with.

It was bad enough they called everyone "racist" last year. Now they're calling us "stupid" this year.

Change you can believe in.

For those who were unable to understand the oval office speach I will translate for you.

"Rig go boom."
"Ugh make BP pay."
"Re-elect Ugh for more term."

If you need help learning how to plug in a computer, turning it on, connecting to the internet, then navigating here to see this post, you're SOL.

There are two ways to look at this statement. Either the people writing this article believe people of the gulf coast are largely illiterate and uneducated, or he wishes to represent and cater to the illiterate. The later does not surprise me. After all, they have been advocating equal rights and affirmative action for the illiterates for decades now.

I'm off to huff some paint, so when they have to fill their quota of stupid people in high paying jobs I'll have my affairs in order to seize the opportunity. Who knows, I might even run for office.

Originally posted by traditionaldrummer
How condescending.

Obama gives a B.S. speech, the public recognizes it and it's summed up to the population being "dumbed down". Must be that government education they provide us with.

It was bad enough they called everyone "racist" last year. Now they're calling us "stupid" this year.

Change you can believe in.

This is the Only Change I Can and Will believe In.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5574c4694907.jpg[/atsimg]
This is written in a Language I can read and understand.
I'm Not Stupid, Just Hopeful.

This doesn't surprise me the least, after all the quality of education In America has been in decline since the 70s.

Yes more people tend to make it to finish high school but the quality of education is poor.

Is not many people that even have the time to educate themselves on how our political system works neither who are the people that represents them in congress by their states and what kind of laws are passed.

All they care is that the "one in the oval office is the party of their family favorite color, red or blue"

[edit on 17-6-2010 by marg6043]

You dont like him because you're racist.

You dont like his positions because you're too stupid to understand them.

He should start giving speeches like President Camacho.

What speech? Hey did you all see dancing with the stars the other night?...

Butley grab me a beer too will ya...

Well, I always thought that talking head in a cheap suit that came on after the speech was suppose to 'splain everything to us dumb Americans.

Oh yeah, maybe THAT is my problem. I'm too stupid to understand what he said. I mean, the ANALYSTS say so. They have the word ANALYST in their title so they must be smart.

My eyes are rolling back so far in my head you'd be tempted to call a priest.

I like O'Reilly's political analysts. The blondes with the oil slick lipgloss? I think one of them used to work at Disney, and another one the 7-11.
BLEH.

Americans are not stupid. 90% are very stressed, and very distracted and have went to public school and have been taught to stand in line willingly, wherever there IS a line.

Me? I'm more an occultist, and I like to take those fancy words apart and really look at them. Yeah.

"One of the lessons we've learned from this spill is that we need better regulations better safety standards, and better enforcement when it comes to offshore drilling. But a larger lesson is that no matter how much we improve our regulation of the industry, drilling for oil these days entails greater risk.

After all, oil is a finite resource. We consume more than 20 per cent of the world's oil, but have less than 2 per cent of the world's oil reserves. And that's part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean because we're running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water.

For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered. For decades, we have talked and talked about the need to end America's century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires. Time and again, the path forward has been blocked not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candour.

The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight. Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries that should be here in America. Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil. And today, as we look to the Gulf, we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude.

We cannot consign our children to this future. The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash American innovation and seize control of our own destiny.

This is not some distant vision for America. The transition away from fossil fuels will take some time, but over the last year and a half, we have already taken unprecedented action to jumpstart the clean energy industry. As we speak, old factories are reopening to produce wind turbines, people are going back to work installing energy-efficient windows, and small businesses are making solar panels. Consumers are buying more efficient cars and trucks, and families are making their homes more energy-efficient. Scientists and researchers are discovering clean energy technologies that will someday lead to entire new industries.

Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us. As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of good, middle-class jobs but only if we accelerate that transition. Only if we seize the moment. And only if we rally together and act as one nation workers and entrepreneurs; scientists and citizens; the public and private sectors.

When I was a candidate for this office, I laid out a set of principles that would move our country towards energy independence. Last year, the House of Representatives acted on these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America's businesses.

Now, there are costs associated with this transition. And some believe we can't afford those costs right now. I say we can't afford not to change how we produce and use energy because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.

So I am happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels. Some have suggested raising efficiency standards in our buildings like we did in our cars and trucks. Some believe we should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power. Others wonder why the energy industry only spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on research and development and want to rapidly boost our investments in such research and development.

All of these approaches have merit, and deserve a fear hearing in the months ahead. But the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is too big and too difficult to meet. You see, the same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in World War II. The same thing was said about our ability to harness the science and technology to land a man safely on the surface of the moon.

And yet, time and again, we have refused to settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom. Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is our capacity to shape our destiny our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. Even if we're unsure exactly what that looks like. Even if we don't yet know precisely how to get there. We know we'll get there.

It is a faith in the future that sustains us as a people.

It is that same faith that sustains our neighbours in the Gulf right now.

Each year, at the beginning of shrimping season, the region's fishermen take part in a tradition that was brought to America long ago by fishing immigrants from Europe. It's called "The Blessing of the Fleet," and today it's a celebration where clergy from different religions gather to say a prayer for the safety and success of the men and women who will soon head out to sea some for weeks at a time.

The ceremony goes on in good times and in bad. It took place after Katrina, and it took place a few weeks ago at the beginning of the most difficult season these fishermen have ever faced."

There's the transcript. Nothing particularly useful in it. What he said just filled up space to make it look like he was saying something relatively important, which he wasn't.

It is also a simple speech.

Originally posted by hadriana
Oh yeah, maybe THAT is my problem. I'm too stupid to understand what he said. I mean, the ANALYSTS say so. They have the word ANALYST in their title so they must be smart.....

I was, for along time, an analyst... and I'll tell you, we used to joke... there's a reason the word "analyst" has the root "anal".

Some of the most inane, obtuse, and unrealistic people I ever met were analysts.

Well, shoot! I must be the dumbest MFer alive then. I really thought his speech was meant to unite us Americans, to drive back big government, to help BP with their problems, to inspire and provide the best oil spill clean-up in history, and to show us how intelligent, patriotic, and benevolent our alleged president truly is.

NOT!

[edit on 17-6-2010 by The Patriot]

I am not really sure what the analyst's goals were by releasing this data. Maybe it was to encourage this country to get back on track with education. I am fairly certain that all or the majority of ATS'ers would have no problem understanding his speech. The rest of the population, I am not so sure. Are the majority of the people that didn't understand it in a certain age group? The reason being, is that we might need to take a look at the younger generation and the status quo that they learn by. Understandably this is insulting to most Americans, but how true is it? Maybe it's a wake up call.

[edit on 17-6-2010 by UFORacer56]

I think the Analysts are too dumbed down to understand that less and less people everyday actually give a crap what the President is talking about.

But hey, they can believe whatever they want.

I bet I have a better understanding of the Kings English than most of Barry's current supporters. at least those outside of politics.

but if i say anymore I'll come off as racist, so I'm out