Listening to three days of the Republican Convention, I was struck by some very effective speeches (Governor Susana Martinez, Condoleezza Rice, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio), one shall we say idiosyncratic speech (Clint Eastwood), and the nominee’s own, which if not a modern-day Cross of Gold was certainly more than adequate.
The best line, undoubtedly, was, “President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet. MY promise…is to help you and your family.” In one sentence it contrasted President Obama’s unpleasant narcissism and Romney’s instinctive self-deprecation, Obama’s utter disregard (even after the severe rebuke of the 2010 election) of what the country wanted him to work on in order to pursue his own personal agenda, and Romney’s concentration on the ailing American economy and the impending fiscal crisis. It reminded me a bit of what is surely the best pun in American political history, Gerald Ford’s “I’m a Ford not a Lincoln.”
Obama, a mountain of evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, regards himself as a Lincoln at the very least. Romney regards himself as a man who has a job to do.
But I was also struck by a rhetorical dog that didn’t bark in the night. The word “mom” rang through the hall repeatedly. But, at least judging from the convention rhetoric, the word “mother” has completely dropped out of the American lexicon. If it was used even once, I missed it.
When I was growing up, “Mom” was a term of address, used only in the vocative. (Well, not to my mother. For some reason she hated the word and when we were young my brother and I called her “Mum,” which is just the British equivalent, although my mother was not British. By the time we were nine or ten we called her Mother.) Today, mom is used in all cases (“American moms,” “tell your mom,” “your mom’s apple pie”). The word survives only as metaphor (“the mother of all battles”).
I suppose it is just an example of the ever-increasing informalization of the language (in the 19th century it was not uncommon for upper-class kids to use the Latin terms Mater and Pater in addressing their parents). But, at least to my aging ears, it sounds off key.
He resisted the demands to bleat and that speaks to his character. The story of the death of his father and the rose was simply beautiful. n nWe have a governing war on our hands between the cronied haute-bourgeoisie and everyone outside the groups they caucus with. n nHelprin’s advice to Obama to enliven the Party’s grievance menagerie illustrates nicely the precarious position the Democrats occupy and the opportunity it offers Republicans. n nRomney did what he needed to do. And I think parts of his speech retain life to linger.
Speaking as a woman and a mother, I find the momification of our discourse cringeworthy.
Like so many other things out there in the Wingnutsphere, Obama's "we will be able to look back and tell our children that … this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal" isn't quite what it seems. Obama was referring not to himself but rather to his climate-change bill which passed the House in 2009 but died in the Senate.
Obama made that remark in June 2008. Are you suggesting that he had a copy of his magic climate-change bill in his back pocket at the time? Considering the timing, I'd say that his hollow boast is exactly what it seems: a telling commentary on a small man's hyper-inflated sense of self-esteem. As for "Wingnutsphere," that's not a bad description for the small corner of unreality occupied by the kooks and swooners who saddled America with this "sort of god."
gee, Marcus, thanks for the heads-up! as a wingnut, I thought he meant he was going to cast a spell or something. n nplease. n nanyway, you're mistaken. that statement is in fact EXACTLY what it seems: yet another instance of Barack Obama talking about the greatness of Barack Obama. wingnuts or not, we get it. n nin my younger days we used to refer to conceited people as "a legend in his own mind." that's our president! n nMarcus, I'm looking forward to your explanation of why "You didn't build that" doesn't mean what we think it does either.
Marcus, next time try doing some research before you make an idiot of yourself. The speech in question was given on June 3, 2008 in St Paul, MN, on the occasion of Obama securing enough delegates to secure the Democratic Party nomination for president. In his everpresent humility, the future narcissist-in-chief declared the primary victory to be a watershed moment in the history of mankind:
Candidate Obama: “I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great nation…”
Facts are so inconvenient sometimes, aren’t they Marcus?
Well, I always address my mother (she turned 92 last month and is still going strong) as "Mother."