September 7, 2013

Churchill Outpolls the Field Including MLK, Jr. and JFK

The Winner and Still ChampionLondon: To mark the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech on 28 August, The Independent on Sunday asked readers to compare King with eight other speakers from the last fifty years. Churchill came top of the list with 39% believing he was “more inspiring” than King.  King himself placed second and John F. Kennedy third. Margaret Thatcher, whose speeches were much replayed at the time of her death last April, rounded out the top four.

The speakers ranked in the bottom five are all among the living.  President Obama placed fifth overall followed by London mayor Boris Johnson and former prime minister Tony Blair.  Current prime minister David Cameron came eighth and his immediate predecessor Gordon Brown finished last.

As Churchill once told a heckler who told him, “Speak up–don’t be afraid!”: “I find I speak quite loud enough to silence any of you when I like.”