[Peace-discuss] FW: Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Alienates Americans, Smacks of Elitism

[LAURIE SOLOMON]

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Alienates Americans, Smacks of Elitism 

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has
broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his
controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.
Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes
on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had
Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he
opened his mouth.
But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public
pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight
years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.
According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of
Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a president who
speaks English as if it were his first language.
"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement,"
says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding
like an elitist."
The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in
his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate,
subject predicate -- we get it, stop showing off."
The president-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has
already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah
Palin of Alaska.
"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that
ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do
there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are
needing also," she said.

Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker
and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site,
BorowitzReport.com. 

 

 

 

 

 






 

 

 

 






 

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