Thursday, November 20, 2008

"Subject, predicate...we get it!"

from The Huffington Post:

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
by Andy Borowitz

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.

3 comments:

Jan said...

Ridiculous. We need such a leader who speaks grammatically correct: complete sentences are how we should all be talking! By continuing to lower standards in the USA, "Americans" are speaking (and writing) in almost an illiterate fashion.

Cynthia said...

Now I can finally listen to all the news on NPR. Whenever Bush was on, I would turn it off.

I've been trying to weed the ill usage of "like" out of my daughters' speech for years. One of these days I hope it sinks in. The trouble is, many of their teachers speak this way.

Andy said...

OMG - this is both awesome and hysterical.

I watched a clip of President Bush last week and just cringed (for the zillionth time). Now, I watch President-Elect Obama and all seems right with the world.