the zeitgeist report

Ben Franklin said he was not a great public speaker. He said when people heard him speak, they thought him rather a dullard. President Bush seems to have a similar problem. He seems to have amazing management skills. He finds the right person for the right job and quickly and efficiently solves problems.

President Clinton was a cracker public speaker with slight verbiose tendencies but was an awful manager who couldn't make a decision.

This article is a pretty good summary of their differences and the meaning of their communication styles:

That was his gift and his curse: he could explain (almost) anything.

Clinton's performance reminded me of the leadership strengths — and weaknesses — of his Baby Boomer successor. George W. Bush is in choppy water over the Dubai ports issue. And he is so, in large part, because, unlike Clinton, he is a man of bullet points, not explanations; of slogans, not systems; of certitude, not complexity.

I've known Bush for a long time and I know that he distrusts talk, at least public talk. He'd rather make a decision — give an order — and then go out and attack a felled tree with a chain saw. He is confident to the point of arrogance when he makes a "tough call." But he objects by nature to the demand that he explain his reasoning and/or the process behind it.