London: Former US president Richard Nixon
was "envious" of Winston Churchill's way with words and
instructed his speech writers to learn from the ex-British
Prime Minister.
According to some documents released by the Nixon
Presidential Library, the ex-American President never
considered himself a great orator and was secretly envious of
Churchill's oratory skills.
Preparing for an address to the Canadian Parliament in
early 1972, the President worried that his rhetoric was so
tedious it would cost him politically.
"The speeches I make are to the great credit of the
speech writing team generally highly literate, highly
responsible and almost invariably dull," Nixon wrote in a memo
to his top aides.
"Now I don't mean to suggest that I should write or sound
like Churchill," he said.
"He is one of those rare birds where God broke the mold
when he died. On the other hand, we can at least learn from
him".
The President appealed for "illustration, anecdote and
colourful words which would inevitably be remembered".
"I am not talking about gimmicks. I abhor gimmicks and
the clever tricks which are fine for Governors, Mayors,
Senators, but simply not up to Presidential standards," he
added.
The admission surfaced in thousands of documents
released by the Nixon Presidential Library, the Daily Mail
reported.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 14:54