Comments on: Coffee break links

By: Ryan Ginstrom

Ryan Ginstrom — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:18:35 +0000

I’ve seen him speak in Spanish when he was the governor of Texas. He’s got an accent, but he’s pretty fluent, even when going off script. I think the problem was that his handlers wanted to ensure control over all the weasel-word political nuances that presidents make.

By: ebodeux

ebodeux — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:04:17 +0000

I don’t speak Spanish, but maybe the issue was his “fluency”? Anyone recall?

By: Ryan Ginstrom

Ryan Ginstrom — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:03:21 +0000

I definitely like the Obama administration’s emphasis on linguistic fluency, but I’ll just note that Bush Jr. was fluent in Spanish and often gave speeches in Spanish. I wasn’t in the US for his presidency, but I understand that he eventually stopped doing that.

By: Andie

Andie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:59:47 +0000

I’m so excited to have a representative of our country who makes public attempts to reach across the cultural divide. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar!