Patton: Victory And Concession Speeches In Iowa

Ted Cruz, the winner of the Republican Iowa caucus, has never learned the first rule of political public speaking. It’s encapsulated in that old, familiar acronym, KISS - keep it short stupid. His victory speech lasted so long (32 minutes) that the cable channels covering it cut away long before it was over to cover Hillary Clinton.

“Cruz, after all, made a name for himself with a 21-hour-plus speech on the Senate floor in which he cited ‘Green Eggs and Ham.’ It remains one of the longest continuous speeches in Senate history.” (Aaron Blake, The Washington Post, 2/2/2016).

Long-winded , stem-winding speeches are common in politics, despite the common knowledge that short ones, like the Gettysburg Address, are more effective. Apparently, the sound of a candidates’ voice is addictive to the speaker. At a political event, members of the audience cringe when a person known for interminable remarks ascends to the podium.

John Kerry gave long, drawn-out orations during his run for the presidency in 2004. I figure (wink, wink) that this wordiness helps him in negotiations he conducts as Secretary of State. At some point after many hours of talking, his adversaries just throw up their hands and say, “Okay, John, whatever you want. Whatever you want. Just stop talking.”

Donald Trump placed second in the Iowa Republican caucus despite the predictions that he would win. The media was agog to see how the egotistical Trump would handle defeat. “Only providence, it seemed, knew what might come out of his mouth about Iowa, Iowa voters or its caucus process if Iowans did not hand him the victory Trump seemed to generally feel that he deserved. Steam might come out of his ears.” (Janell Ross. The Washington Post, 2/2/2016)

Trump surprised everyone by giving a short, 4-minute (are you paying attention, Ted Cruz?), diplomatic concession speech. “ He didn’t excoriate anyone or even assign himself any particular grand praise. He offered a pretty standard mixture of public graciousness toward the candidate who beat him, Ted Cruz, as well as others who competed against him.” (Janell Ross, The Washington Post, 2/2/2016).

Has Donald Trump turned over a new leaf? Don’t bet on it. Somewhat later, Trump sent the following message on Twitter. “Anybody who watched all of Ted Cruz’ far too long, rambling, overly flamboyant speech last nite would say this was his Howard Dean moment.” (Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign started to collapse after he issued a very un-presidential scream following his loss to John Kerry in the 2004 Iowa Democratic caucus.)

ALSO READ:

• Patton: The Adventures Of A Political Canvasser
• Patton: Deception Abounds At Presidential Debates
• Patton: Trump, Hillary Heckled At Political Rallies
• Patton: Rand Paul and Jeb Bush Turn To Humor
• Patton: How Jeb Bush Ended Up Supporting Donald Trump
• Patton: The Comic World Of Presidential Politics

Later, Trump went even further. He accused Cruz of fraud in the following three Twitter messages.

“Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified.”

“Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!”

“The State of Iowa should disqualify Ted Cruz from the most recent election on the basis that he cheated - a total fraud!”

Somehow, I find it reassuring to have Donald Trump revert to form.

Meanwhile, in the Iowa Democratic caucus, Hillary Clinton took a gamble.

According to Jason Easley (Politicus, 2/1/2016), “Hillary Clinton Delivers a Non-Victory Victory Speech in Iowa.” In an extraordinarily close contest with Bernie Sanders, Clinton declared “victory” before all the votes were counted, risking the possibility that she might eventually lose and look pretty silly in the process. To be sure, Clinton never used the word “victory,” but she said that she “felt relieved” implying that she expected to win without saying so.

Why would Clinton take this chance? Because, in politics as in sports, “the best defense is a good offense.” Take the initiative; put your opponent on the defensive. Declare victory. After all the polls have been taken, doors knocked and telephone calls made, some unpredictability still remains in a campaign, which sometimes calls for risk taking. In this case, the gamble paid off as Clinton eked out a narrow victory over Sanders.

Gary Patton is the author of two books, “Selling Mt. Washington,” a political satire about New Hampshire politics, and “Outtastatahs: Newcomers’ Adventures in New Hampshire, “ a humorous account of the struggles of newcomers to this state. Both books are now available in Portsmouth at the River Run Bookstore , Discover Portsmouth, and Tugboat Alley. In Exeter, these books can be obtained at The Water Street Bookstore and the Country Store at RiverWoods. In Hampton, look for them at the Galley Hatch gift shop. In North Hampton, both are available at “The Book Outlet.” In Concord, these books can be found at Gibson’s Bookstore. They are also available on-line at Amazon.com.