Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy


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.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/obamas-use-of-complete-se_b_144642.html

drawing large crowds ... OMG.:eyes:

:hi:

uses the words "too" and "also" correctly as well as appropriately. People were getting used to Palin mangling the English language like this. This probably explains why McCain got so many votes Palin motivated the functionally illiterate vote.

:rofl:

we have been dumbed down for so long, when we have someone to talk in complete sentences they are called "elitist" I mean :wtf:

watched the 60 Minutes interview and spent about half an hour afterwards talking about how refreshing it was to have a President-elect who was articulate, grammatical, and obviously intelligent. It's been so long, and it's so refreshing.

"he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

:thumbsup:

Presidential Speeches" will be lost.

I may resort to rereading Palin interviews there also too.