President Obama talks too much.  Earlier this week, I listened to him introduce his latest nominee to lead the Veterans Administration, Robert McDonald . It wasn’t hard to pick up on a predictable pattern that characterizes just about all of Obama’s talks.  Likely influenced by his speechwriters, the president’s rhetoric ends up sounding boringly familiar and annoyingly self-effacing.  The following talking points in his McDonald remarks underscore, in a nutshell, how team Obama frames the message: (1) Begin by thanking (and even congratulating) all those employees who work for the Veterans Administration for their years of dedicated service to America’s heroes, wounded warriors, and others who have given so much for their country. (2) Recognize the problems (in this case within the V.A.), but make very clear that they were systemic to the agency long before you became president. (3) Point out, furthermore, that the reason the problem...(Read Full Post)