Five Great Political Speeches

Challenger Explosion: Address to the Nation

When the Space Shuttle Challenger burst in the sky, the whole nation was stunned and saddened—none more so than the millions of school children who watched from their classrooms.  

Why It Works: Nancy Duarte has a nice analysis of why President Reagan’s speech hit all the right notes: honoring the astronauts, praising our space program, and taking a jab at Soviet secrecy. Peggy Noonan, his speechwriter, also knew that Reagan had to comfort the children. As a kid who watched the Challenger explode, Reagan came across like a grandfather, putting millions of kids’ fears to ease.   

Memorable Line: They “slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.”

1988 Democratic National Convention Keynote

This speech by Ann Richards, then-Texas State Treasurer, turned her into a political superstar. It’s best known for her roast of then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and her Texas twang. But it’s also about female leadership and middle-class dignity. Nearly four decades later, many of the themes still strike a cord. In fact, if you listen to Barack Obama’s 2004 DNC keynote (more below), you’ll hear many of the same issues.   

Why It Works: Mostly because of Richards. Elections are about choices, and she makes this one about personality as much as policy. She’s a woman; Bush is a man. She’s got a “real” Texas accent; he’s a New England-born blue blood. She understands the middle class; he’s an aristocrat.

In an election that Bush won in a landslide, the two Texas Democrats (Richards and then-Senator Lloyd Bentsen) provided more firepower than the Democrats’ presidential nominee, Gov. Michael Dukakis.      

Memorable Line: “Poor George. He can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

The Lady’s Not for Turning: 1980 Conservative Party Conference Speech

In 1980, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gave a career-defining speech to the Conservative Party at their party conference. Unemployment was up, and she was under pressure to change her economic policies. She refused to do a “U-turn.”

Why It Works: Thatcher lays out her vision with some artful play on words. She comes across as strong and unflappable.  For example, when a protester charges into the hall and interrupts her, she replies, “You can’t blame them. It’s always better where the Tories are.” 

She uses a seasons metaphor to show that the country is moving from a “winter of discontent” to an “autumn of understanding” to be followed by a “winter of common sense.”  

As most speeches are, it’s remembered for one line: a variation on the title of the 1948 play The Lady’s Not for Burning.

Memorable Line: “You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning.”

2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote

This was the speech that made Barack Obama president. While speeches can sell books and boost careers, it’s the rare one that can catapult an obscure state senator into the White House in just four years.  

Why It Works: He turns his biggest political vulnerability—he’s a unknown black man with a last name that rhymes with Osama—into a testament of American greatness. “In no other country on earth is my story even possible.” It’s loaded with American civic and religious rhetoric: Lincoln, “E pluribus unum,” and “God’s greatest gift to us.”

It also sounds like a sermon. It rises and falls and builds towards a big finish.

Memorable Line: “There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America. There's the United States of America.”

We Will Meet Again

In the early days of the pandemic, the world was on edge. In late March 2020, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a lockdown. Soon after, Queen Elizabeth addressed a terrified and isolated nation.

Why It Works: As head of state, her job was to comfort her country, offer hope, and provide a sense of purpose. She succeeded. She praised the National Health Service and essential workers. She recalled her first broadcast as a child during World War II when she spoke to all the children separated from their families due to the war.

Channeling Churchill, the Queen also praised the national spirit: “Those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.”

Memorable Line: “We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.”