ANDILE NDLOVU: Ramaphosa's Obama moment won't last forever
'I love a president who is a natural orator. It would explain why I loved Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address last Friday'
Oh, how I love me a good ol’ rousing speech about hope and change. It’s why I loved listening to former US President Barack Obama’s speeches over the past decade – from his acceptance speech in 2008, to his inauguration speeches in 2009, and again in 2012. The same for Thabo Mbeki. I could listen to the former SA president tell me how much of a failure I am, and I would still probably give him a hug for even mentioning my name. I love a president who is a natural orator. It would explain why I loved Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address last Friday, and his subsequent responses to the questions posed to him on Monday.Over five years ago, I wrote an open letter in The Times, directly after watching Obama’s re-election speech. I wrote about how, in Michelle’s husband, my young and black American counterparts had an icon. I wrote that I had “president envy” and that I, too, wished to feel compelled to stay up all night for that warm and fuzzy feeling of patriotism that American...
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