I’ve never thought Barack Obama was a particularly good public speaker. This may come as a shock to my Democrat friends (yes, I do have some), who regard the president as a great and moving orator who carries them along in soothing baritone as he frames the momentous issues of our time. That’s with a teleprompter, of course — and when he’s delivering a speech crafted by someone else. When he’s on his own, without a safety net, Obama struggles to collect his thoughts.

This was painfully evident in last week’s presidential debate against Mitt Romney. Collectively, the president’s stammering and choppy delivery — liberally peppered with “Uh…” — consumed several minutes of precious time and distracted from his message.

But maybe it’s on purpose. Is Obama trying to mimic JFK? President Kennedy’s many press conferences are laced with “Uh…” as he tried to correctly, uh, frame, uh, complex subject matter. The difference between Kennedy and Obama, however, is that Kennedy had eloquence — and the force of facts and personal credibility –on either side of the “Uh…”s. I pulled a typical clip from one of Kennedy’s news conferences, along with a clip of Obama from last week’s presidential debate for comparison. Interesting stuff. (CLICK CONTINUE READING)

Looking ahead, I expect the next two debates with further confirm my assessment of Obama’s extemporaneous speaking skills: They’re not very good. As with last week, he will once again be naked before the world. He will not have suddenly acquired substantially more mental bandwidth with which to demolish challenges by a far more articulate and aggressive Romney.

To be sure, the vice-presidential debate on Thursday is one to anticipate. Against GOP nominee Paul Ryan, the vice-president, Joe Biden, is sure to unleash some corkers. But that’s only a side-show. The next two presidential debates will matter. Obama, well aware of last week’s flop, may recover some for Debate No. 2 next Tuesday — a town-hall style affair in which purportedly undecided people will ask questions. But the topic is foreign policy, which is a dangerous minefield for the president. Expect Romney to push, and Uhbama to emerge again as he tries to avoid stepping on one.