Thousands of such passionate speeches -- millions more passionate words -- were uttered by names now brown with history: William Jennings Bryan, Carrie Nation, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
At worst, it brings to mind a hustler who thrusts their card aggressively in your face with barely a hello uttered, all the while scanning over your shoulder for someone more important.
The Welsh-born leader offered a neat summation of her political style with the first two words she uttered as prime minister on the floor of Australia's House of Representatives.
Gordon Brown for the first time uttered the "r" word - recession, agreeing with the governor of the Bank of England that Britain appears to be heading into recession.