We will act with the full force of the federal government to ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times. And when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our economy.
Barack Obama, Speech to Congress. Wednesday 26th February 2009
The inflated style itself is a kind of euphemism. A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outline and covering up all the details. The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink. In our age there is no such thing as “keeping out of politics.” All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia. When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer.
George Orwell, Politic and the English Language
He doesn’t really know what cleaning up balance sheets entails, does he?
Comment by Clunking Fist — February 26, 2009 @ 1:03 pm
He doesn’t really know what cleaning up balance sheets entails, does he?
He does, and he knows exactly what he’s going to do – nationalise the banks after the next market crash. He just doesn’t want to tell anyone until after he’s done it.
Comment by danylmc — February 26, 2009 @ 1:16 pm
http://www.angryalien.com/1204/wonderful_lifebuns.asp
Comment by Neil — February 26, 2009 @ 1:42 pm
What does one expect from someone who has led a life of privilege–think 4 Ivy League degrees in the Obama family, and has never held a real job. Same too with Joe Foot-In-Mouth” Biden.
Everyone says The Anointed One gives a “good speech.” Those who are truly astute know that since he was in the 1st grade in Kenya, The Anointed One excelled in “READING.” Take away his “TELEPROMPTERS”, and the “feet-of-clay” become all too apparent.
To those who fear The Anointed One, not to worry. He will succumb to that fatal malady known as “CARPAL TUNNEL NECKUS SYNDROME” which will eventually cause his demise. CTNS, as it is becoming known, afflicts people who over-use teleprompters, just as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome affects typists and keyboarders. The faster and more adept one is at typing, the greater the degree of affliction. Similarly, the better one is at reading a ‘Teleprompterized” speech, the greater the danger of “CARPAL NECKUS.” Fans at tennis matches suffer from the same affliction. But to a lesser extent because the tennis ball only travels at about 145mph. The Anointed One’s head swivel speed, as he turns right to left…left to right,
etc., has been estimated, by NASA scientists, as being on a par with the speed of a re-entry orbit. But the Secret Service has already issued a memo to this effect and is practicing to ensure speedy coverage for that day when The Anointed One’s head will fly off into the crowd with speeds in the 2000mph range and plow through hundreds of spectators. We can only hope that the fateful day will occur during a State of The Union speech.
Comment by llabesab — February 26, 2009 @ 11:14 pm
Compared to the vapid waffle most politicians come up with, it’s not a bad speech. It’s definitely not the ‘inflated style’ that Orwell was complaining about.
Comment by helenalex — February 27, 2009 @ 5:04 pm
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