The most famous speech in American political history

[keep_it_real]

was delivered by William Jennings Bryan on July 9, 1896, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

"We say in our platform that we believe that the right to coin money and issue money is a function of government. We believe it. We believe it is a part of sovereignty and can no more with safety be delegated to private individuals than can the power to make penal statutes or levy laws for taxation.

Mr. Jefferson, who was once regarded as good Democratic authority, seems to have a different opinion from the gentleman who has addressed us on the part of the minority. Those who are opposed to this proposition tell us that the issue of paper money is a function of the bank and that the government ought to go out of the banking business. I stand with Jefferson rather than with them, and tell them, as he did, that the issue of money is a function of the government and that the banks should go out of the governing business."

More here:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5354/

[barbtries]

1. maybe the most prescient one

but testing myself off your thread title, i came up with the gettysburg address off the top of my head. my son came up with my second choice MLK i have a dream.

but the sentiment is not lost.

[adiabatic]

2. Not sure about 'famous' but Bryan was an asshole...for prosecuting Scopes.

...

[patrice]

3. Is it wise to make the perfect the enemy of the good?

[TheBigotBasher]

8. That phrase... grr

"Is it wise to make the perfect the enemy of the good" in its most recent use by Harry Reid, justifying swinging cuts to real programmes on the recovery bill and using those savings to fund even more tax cuts for the rich, just shocked me about the shear defeatism of a man who cow towed to Rethgs for nothing.

[patrice]

9. I'm not referring to Harry Reid and the meaning of that principle

is an objection to a proposal that goes something like this "Because A. has been wrong about __________, we should reject anything and everything that A. supports."

Abstracting some principle/value and then forcing everything to conform or be discounted by that principle/value is a rationally bass-ackward process which has caused this country to suffer inestimable delusions that have lead us all, practically speaking, to infinite losses.

[Hanse]

5. Creationist, prohibitionist...

refused to condemn the KKK...

[cali]

4. not even close.

I can think of quite a few more famous political speeches. FDR's fear itself speech, Lincoln's Gettyburg Address, JFK's inaugural speech, MLK's I have a dream.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

6. Um... Gettysburg Address? Washington's farewell address? His first inagural address?

Gimme a break.

[rucky]

7. This is the newest most famous speech in the history

of the website.