Readers: The political season is heating up! Today’s politicians probably wish they lived in a time when there were no microphones to catch everything they say.
In our Sept. 24, 2023, segment, we talked about things politicians say. And in our May 8, 2022, segment on sports, we talked about malapropisms. This week, we combine! And list some great gaffes by politicians.
We note that slips of the lip are not the purview of just one political persuasion. Also, we anticipate skeptics, so we’ve added hyperlinks showing these quotes are real.
YouTube
NPR
“Gentlemen, get the thing straight once and for all—the policeman isn't there to create disorder. The policeman is there to preserve disorder.” Chicago Mayor Richard Daley during the tumultuous 1968 Democratic Convention.
''There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.'' — President George W. Bush, Nashville, 2002.
“A zebra does not change its spots.” Vice presidential candidate Al Gore, 1992.
Encyclopedia Brittanica
''I think that gay marriage should be between a man and a woman.'' — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2003.
“Life is indeed precious and I believe the death penalty helps to affirm that fact.” — New York Mayor Ed Koch, 1985.
“No one…is the suppository of all wisdom.” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, 2013.
CBS News
''Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.'' —Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, 1989
“Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package, 500 million Americans lose their jobs.” — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 2009.
"Now we have Nancy Pelosi's gazpacho police spying on members of Congress.” — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, February 2022.
“He was a man of great statue." — Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.
“This is unparalyzed in the state’s history.” — Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis
"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is." — Vice President Dan Quayle in a 1989 speech to the United Negro College Fund, whose slogan is, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste."
''We know there are known knowns: there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns: that is to say we know there are things we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know.'' —U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Feb. 12, 2002.
“We are going to start winning bigly.” — Presidential candidate Donald Trump, May 2016.
Igberetv.com
“His mom lived in Long Island for 10 years or so, God rest her soul. Although she’s…wait. Your mom’s still alive. It was your dad that passed. God bless her soul! I gotta get this straight.” — Then Vice-President Joe Biden to the then-Irish prime minister at a 2010 St. Patrick’s Day event.
Watch this on video! https://youtu.be/IeHRjiz6V5U?si=OsIq5krvObLyV6EM
Next time: Lie, lady, lie.
Vox Populi: Our Jan. 28, 2024, column asked for suggestions for non-gender replacements for he/she and him/her. Even Horribly Wrong’s bible, The Associated Press stylebook, notes: “As much as possible, AP also uses they/them/their as a way of accurately describing and representing a person who uses those pronouns for themself.” We asked readers to create a word. Loyal reader and occasional contributor Bob Yankowitz opined:
“…There have been suggestions, which have so far gone nowhere. For he/she "Ze," and "Hir" have been proposed, with equally strange variations. "Mx." has been proposed to replace Mr. and Ms. I'm not in favor of any of them. Took me 20 years to get used to Ms., so I figure I'll be dead before I'd get used to any of these.”
Readers: Keep ‘em coming!
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Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong," features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police:” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we can credit you properly. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com
NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!