OutdoorType

Words, when spoken out loud for the sake of performance, are music. They have rhythm, and pitch, and timbre, and volume. These are the properties of music, and music has the ability to find us and move us, and lift us up in ways that literal meanings can’t. Do you see?
- President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet, The West Wing

If you’ve ever read this blog you know I’ve got a thing for Sorkin. I’m a sucker for his writing, I’m a sucker for his stories, I just can’t get enough. And, as I watched Obama’s speech tonight, as I listened to his words, it was hard not to hear the voice of Sorkin’s greatest characters echoing around the back of my head.

At one point tonight my iChat status read: “It really does sound like Sorkin came in and punched up the speech a bit,” so you can imagine my happy surprise when I flipped from PBS’s excellent convention coverage to MSNBC in time to hear Brian Williams say that listening to the speech reminded him of two things… He mentioned quickly how he was left wistfully thinking of Tim Russert and then went on to say that the other thing he was thinking of was Aaron Sorkin.

Williams then went on to quote the parts of the speech that sounded like they’d been pulled almost directly from the movie The American President. The American President, a movie about a dashingly youngish President fighting an uphill re-election battle against a gnarled old Senator. Sound a bit familiar?

The speech sounded familiar too, but not in the “I think he blatantly ripped of Sorkin” kind of way. No, it was more that he did what good writers do, he developed a rhythm, he developed a cadence, and it worked for him. I mean, at one point tonight Olbermann had to cut off Pat Buchanan because Buchanan could not stop gushing over how great the speech was! Srsly.

Now, I’ve found an early copy of the speech and a script of The American President and pulled out a couple of the passages Brian Williams mentioned…

The American President:

I’ve known Bob Rumson for years. I’ve been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn’t get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob’s problem isn’t that he doesn’t get it. Bob’s problem is that he can’t sell it.
- President Andrew Shepherd

Tonight’s Speech:

A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care, it’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.
- Sen. Barak Obama

And then, more from The American President:

A.J.
Would we have won?

SHEPHERD
If we’d had to go through a character debate three years ago, would we have won?

A.J.
I don’t know. But I would’ve liked that campaign. If my friend Andy Shepherd had shown up, I would have liked that campaign.

Tonight’s Speech:

And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America’s promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that’s a debate I’m ready to have.
- Sen. Barak Obama

Later on in the coverage NBC News’ Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell reiterated the Sorkin connection. I definitely got a big kick out of that.

And now, I’ll finish with one last snippet from The West Wing where Sam explains how the great writers do it…

 MALLORY

One good moment is good.

SAM
Oh, I’m not complaining. I’m saying one good moment is great. It’s a golf shot. I’ve got to get back in there. That’s where it’s happening. (beat) You came by just to tell me you liked the speech?

MALLORY
“This is a time for American heroes and we reach for the stars.”? I’m weak.

SAM
Yeah. I think I stole that from Camelot.

MALLORY
Let me get you home. I don’t think you’re going to make it.

SAM
Yeah. I don’t think I’m going to make it, either.

MALLORY
Camelot?

SAM
Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.

THE WEST WING
“20 HOURS IN AMERICA PART II”