How important is the President’s ability to communicate?

I think that the Presidential ability to communicate is
vitally important.  In a modern setting, the President has to be able to clearly convey
what is being done, how the American people need to read what is being done, and also
why what is being done is beneficial, in general.  President Obama's address about the
situation in Libya Tuesday night is representative of the Presidential need to
communicate.  The President was able to repeat the ideas that the United States was
working with other nations in tandem and that the current leader of Libya was guilty of
unspeakable human rights violations.  This need to communicate to the people
necessitated the President's address.  Over history, the President's need to communicate
has come from the need to reach the people.

Ronald Reagan
was called "the great communicator" because of his ability to clearly speak to and about
what was needed from Americans in support of America.  FDR's fireside chats were a means
of communicating with the people about ideas that he was seeking to bring out in his
administration and through his legislation.  The need to communicate throughout
Presidential history is a way in which leaders have been able to connect with their
citizens and also a way through which they can ensure their messages were received "on
point."  Presidents who have not been able to communicate clearly usually end up
suffering a great loss of credibility.  Former President Bush might be a great example
of this.  In the days following the attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush's
communication was clear and concise.  This contributed to an overwhelming approval
rating.  However, as situations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and domestically began to elude
his grasp of communicating, his credibility rating plummeted. Other factors were
involved in this slide.  Yet, the lack of clear communication was a factor in this drop
in credibility perception.