State Of The Union: President Obama Vs. Colin Firth In 'The King's Speech'

Two big speeches were highlighted on Tuesday night: President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, and Colin Firth's as King George VI in 'The King's Speech.'

So, here's the context. President Obama is facing a very hostile House of Representatives, and a country that is torn on the efficacy of his presidency, though they all knew he could speak. Firth (as King George) faced a unified nation, but a country torn on the efficacy of his speech. Oh, and a swarming enemy that was invading his little island.

Both oversaw what could be considered empires at their crossroads. Here's a basic scorecard between the two.

President Obama vs. King George VI: Who had the tougher job?

Category	Obama	Firth	Winner
Hitler Problem	Being compared to him	Being invaded by him	Firth
Crazy Old Mentor	Joe Biden	Lionel Logue	Obama
Military Struggle	Terrorism	The Axis Powers	Firth
Pins	Tiny American Flag (he wore it!)	Sweet yet unearned military medals	Obama
Rallying Cry	Old Russian Satellite	Freedom	Firth
Awful Predecessor	George W. Bush	King Edward VIII	Obama
Elitism	Called an Elitist	Is an Elitist (a King!)	Obama
Wife	Michelle Obama	Helena Bonham Carter	Obama (not tougher, but more awesome)
National Unity	Senators rubbing elbows	Holding each other as bombs fell	Firth
Crazy Response	Michelle Bachman	Bombing of London	Firth
Outlook on Asia	Work with 'em	Fight 'em!	Obama
Tally	6	5	Obama!

Comments

[johnymurad]

10:41 AM on 01/26/2011

laappo Obama winner

[reviewingthesituation]

10:26 AM on 01/26/2011

I am an Obama supporter, but he has an unfortunate speech characteristic that truly weakens his delivery. His delivery habitually speeds up and drops in intensity at the end of each sentence. If he is speaking of something fairly insignificant -- "I LIKE BRATS betterthenhotdogs." -- it doesn't matter. But when he is speaking of more profound things -- TERRORISTS MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO MAKE usafearfulnation" -- it sounds as though he does not believe what he is saying is important enough to carry emphatic weight all the way to the very last word.

I'm surprised someone hasn't counseled Obama on this. (And before his perpetual critics burst on the blog scene, this speech pattern doesn't indicate insincerity any more than a stutter indicates fear.) Obama's speeches are often more impressive to read and hear quoted than they are to hear because of this lax speech pattern. By comparison, Kennedy's speeches could be moving to hear and dreary to read. King's "I Have a Dream Speech" was electrifying in both versions.

[Kali03]

06:07 AM on 01/26/2011

Ha, I love it! This is a truly funny way to stack things up!

K.

[gettingitright]

01:26 AM on 01/26/2011

Cute and clever.

[Jaxy]

01:22 AM on 01/26/2011

Clearly, some innovative, out-of-the-box thinking is at play here. The author of this article is a fine, young American!

[Antoinette Anderson]

01:11 AM on 01/26/2011

What the h311 is this?

[AGooglyMinotaur]

12:59 AM on 01/26/2011

I was going to say how lame this is, put I pressed the right key too qui---

[Nikki Star]

12:03 AM on 01/26/2011

Not unearned medals - they mention him having served in WWI and having been a naval officer. Sillies. I think that beats a flag pin and tips the scales the other way, muahaha!

[Halsey]

11:53 PM on 01/25/2011

First I looked for the author of this piece to check out their bio..there was not one.
OH MY GAWD.
One was a movie based on man who became a king but still a MOVIE.

The other was a sitting President. Jeezus, the brain factory has been outsourced.

[Pennsylvanianne]

08:18 AM on 01/26/2011

The article and chart are meant to be facetious. Are you sure you have a sense of humor?

[nwfurn]

11:51 PM on 01/25/2011

Pathetic and stupid, HP.

[DJohn34065]

11:38 PM on 01/25/2011

Plan for the future ... winner ... Obama
Progressive politics ... winner ... Firth
Speech making ... winner ... Obama
Likability ... winner ... Firth
Articulateness ... tie
Nobel prizes ... winner ... Obama
Oscars ... winner ... Firth? I hope so

[dreadylocks]

11:31 PM on 01/25/2011

fail.

[robparisblog]

11:20 PM on 01/25/2011

See a tag cloud of Obama's 2011 State of the Union Address: http://robvstate.com/2011/01/25/tag-cloud-of-obamas-2011-state-of-the-union-address/

And see how it compares to the 2010 State of the Union Address

[sippewissett]

11:17 PM on 01/25/2011

WHY make this frivolous comparison? WHY, except headlines? No wonder we confuse celebs with intellectuals, appearance with substance, acting vs. living real problems.

[Halsey]

11:54 PM on 01/25/2011

Thank you many times over. I just vented over the whole insulting premise of this piece. I am faving AND fanning you for your common sense. #417!

[Malou0501]

10:04 PM on 01/25/2011

I was not aware that we are on a verge of a war and that Obama stutters. My bad.

[Halsey]

11:56 PM on 01/25/2011

Malou..don't forget the Aussie behind the curtain. Faved for your ability to think!