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Toby Harnden: Top 25 political speeches of all time

[Journalist and author Toby Harnden is the Washington Bureau Chief of The Sunday Telegraph of London.]

The bar is high because, as even his detractors concede, Mr Obama is a remarkable orator.

He first shot to prominence when he moved many at the 2004 Democratic convention to tears.

He announced he would run for president last year with a beautifully-crafted address in Abraham Lincoln’s home town of Springfield, Illinois.

A pivotal moment of his epic primary battle with Hillary Clinton was his Philadelphia speech about race after the incendiary utterances of his former pastor Jeremiah Wright threatened to scupper his White House bid.

But what makes a truly great speech?

A team of Telegraph writers has compiled what we believe are the most significant addresses of the 20th and 21st centuries. The first tranche, speeches 25-13, can be viewed here. The top 12 will be published tomorrow...
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)