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.