Some Talkers Can Be Doers

Obama can still give a good speech.  The problem is it is just a speech, nothing will happen.  Adam Clymer reminds us of an equally good orator who actually made things happen.  That orator was JFK.  

On June 10 and 11 Kennedy gave two speeches which changed the world and this country.  On June 10 in a commencement speech at American University he announced new talks to try to curb nuclear tests.  An excerpt from this speech:

“In the final analysis our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”

An agreement to establish a hot line between Washington and Moscow came in a few days, and a limited nuclear test ban treaty in four months.  

On June 11 he spoke to the nation on television outlining the civil rights bill he would be submitting to Congress.  An excerpt:

“The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated.”

In just over a year, the 1964 Civil Rights Act became the most important American law of the 20th century.

What action has resulted from a speech by Obama?