Date: 29 Sep 2011 06:03 Title: Speech
My coffee would probably be cold by the time I'd regain my ability to move and do something else than just stare at the screen.
The president tried to present all the facts, emphasising that there were some good news too, but he probably realises that the good news are of lesser size than the big-bad-wolf news. Still, he wanted to inform the people, not merely scare them, so balancing the trouble with countermeasures to that trouble was good planning.
I hope to never hear a speech like this in real life.
Date: 24 Feb 2010 19:30 Title: Speech
A good piece to include and the mode of delivering it fits with the historical value of the speech too. A smart choice in terms of the style. I like too the nods to canon and the selected details you opted for. I might have thought that the President might appeal more within his speech about some of the values of the Federation and striving to protect them and ensure safeguarding those rights and beliefs so strongly upheld by the Federation and Starfleet. Nevertheless, a good call to battle from a politician with a varied society to cater for as he tries to lead them in war time.
Date: 19 Feb 2010 20:42 Title: Speech
And that's just how it might have happened...
Date: 19 Feb 2010 13:35 Title: Speech
A well-written speech. My only minor quibble is the use (twice) of the word "achieve victory." Starfleet strategists might talk like that, and a president might say it behind closed doors, but in a wanna-be utopian, heavily diplomatic society like the Federation, even a president from a warrior race like the Andorians would probably be pressured by his advisors into using more neutral language in a public speech ... language that makes the Federation sound like they are repelling aggressors rather than seeking to crush an enemy.
Overall, though, this is a nice little "from the archives of history" kind of piece. Also, the second-person format you used serves to draw the readers into it like it's really happening, and they're part of the story. Nicely done.
Author's Response: Essentially I wanted to mirror FDR's speech after Pearl Harbor a tad. If you hadn't read the Dominion War Sourcebook, Rosarev is a former Starfleet captain who advocated more aggressive defense policies. And remember that this is the first high-intensity conflict the Federation has fought since its founding, the first conflict in which it needed to fight for its very existence. Though, I can see your point as they spend the first half of the war fighting defensively. Thanks for the feedback, Kes!