Oratory

I believe that one of Obama's main attributes leading to his success is his oratorical prowess. Which brings to mind that these days you don't hear one described as a great orator. Great speakers of the past, such as Raph Waldo Emerson and Winston Churchill, were known as great orators. When I was in high school and college, we had oratorical contests. I participated in one in high school with the subject the U. S. Constitution. Interestingly, much of the material in my oration was taken from that of Ben Swofford, of Southwest High School in Kansas City. Ben had won first place in the national competition, and a number of years later I started the practice of law with Ben in Kansas City.

What is an oration? After looking at a number of definitions, I would call it a formal public speech, spoken with eloquence--forceful, vivid, fluent and persuasive.

According to Wikipedia: "In Ancient Rome, the art of speaking in public . . . was a professional competence especially cultivated by politicians and lawyers. As the Greeks were still seen as the masters in this field, as in philosophy and most fields, the leading Roman families often either sent their sons to study these things under a famous master in Greece (as was the case with the young Julius Caesar) or engaged a Greek teacher (under pay or as a slave)."