America the Stupid: President Obama's Speech too Complicated

There were progressives who were disappointed with President Obama's speech on the BP oil disaster the other night. There were undoubtedly conservatives who didn't like it either, but there is nothing he could say or do that would make them happy. It turns out though, that there is another reason America may not have cottoned to the speech. . .they're too stupid.  Or ignorant, or uneducated, pick your favorite. The speech was written in 9th grade English (a little more, actually), and apparently there aren't enough Americans who read that well.  Or read so good, I suppose. Of course, most of us watched the speech on TV, rather than having to read it. Somehow, that isn't comforting to me.

[Excerpt]

Language mavens exchange words over Obama's Oval Office speech

Language experts weighed in Thursday after poring over the nearly 2,700 words of President Obama's Oval Office speech on the Gulf oil disaster.
"It was straightforward and easy to understand," said Ron Yaros, assistant professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, referring to the explanations of the crisis and its possible solutions. He divided the speech into 1,200 "idea units," each of which represents a point the president was trying to make. . .

Read more at: CNN