Posted on 02/24/2009 10:38:52 AM PST by reaganaut1
When President Obama speaks before Congress and the nation tonight, he will be facing some of his toughest critics.
Grammar junkies.
Since his election, the president has been roundly criticized by bloggers for using I instead of me in phrases like a very personal decision for Michelle and I or the main disagreement with John and I or graciously invited Michelle and I.
The rule here, according to conventional wisdom, is that we use I as a subject and me as an object, whether the pronoun appears by itself or in a twosome. Thus every I in those quotes ought to be a me.
So should the president go stand in a corner of the Oval Office (if he can find one) and contemplate the error of his ways? Not so fast.
For centuries, it was perfectly acceptable to use either I or me as the object of a verb or preposition, especially after and. Literature is full of examples. Heres Shakespeare, in The Merchant of Venice: All debts are cleared between you and I. And heres Lord Byron, complaining to his half-sister about the English town of Southwell, which, between you and I, I wish was swallowed up by an earthquake, provided my eloquent mother was not in it.
It wasnt until the mid-1800s that language mavens began kvetching about I and me. The first kvetch cited in Merriam-Websters Dictionary of English Usage came from a commencement address in 1846. In 1869, Richard Meade Bache included it in his book Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Almost everyone misspeaks, and I'm not being fair to Obama. As one of the "rich" who pay income taxes, he's not fair to me either.
Next thing we will hear how it IS okay to spell potato with an E.
Now the NYT is rewriting the English language for Obama.
So apparently, Obama is soooo smart that he speaks English as it was originally intended, and not according to the distortions of the last 200 years.
Yep. Certainly no double standard here.
And this from the NY Times!
Great. Now we’re getting the evil I...
I wonder if “I” and “Me” are used correctly in his books?
Me, too.
Just think maybe my posts will start making cents
If the Teleprompter says "Michelle and I" then that's the way English is spoken. Even the rules of language must fall down before The One.
The only words Ø has trouble with are honest words.
I’ve been calling him out since he started to run. This from an “editor” of the Harvard Law Review, LOL !!!
Wow. The Obamessiah be older than I thought him was.
;^)
Scents? They already stink...
gosh, he uses those words (”I” & “me”) so often...you would think he’d have it down by now...
The scent of Obama
What happens when he says, “Fazizzle my Nizzle”?
It was also perfectly acceptable to not bathe for centuries and centuries
I Wanna Talk About Me
Artist(Band):Toby Keith
Yeah, Yeah
That’s right
We talk about your work how your boss is a jerk
We talk about your church and your head when it hurts
We talk about the troubles you’ve been having with your brother
About your daddy and your mother and your crazy ex-lover
We talk about your friends and the places that you’ve been
We talk about your skin and the dimples on your chin
The polish on your toes and the run in your hose
And God knows we’re gonna talk about your clothes
You know talking about you makes me smile
But every once in awhile
I wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I like talking about you you you you, usually, but occasionally
I wanna talk about meeeeee (me,me,me,me-background singers)
I wanna talk about me (me,me-background singers)
We talk about your dreams and we talk about your schemes
your high school team and your moisturizer creme
We talk about your nanna up in Muncie, Indiana
We talk about your grandma down in Alabama
We talk about your guys of every shape and size
The ones that you despise and the ones you idolize
We talk about your heart, bout your brains and your smarts
And your medical charts and when you start
You know talking about you makes me grin
But every now and then
I wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I like talking about you you you you, usually, but occasionally
I wanna talk about me (me,me,me,me- background singers)
I wanna talk about meeeeeeee (me,me- background singers)
(I wanna talk about me- background singers)mmmm me me me me
(I wanna talk about me- background singers)mmmm me me me me
You you you you you you you you you you you you you
I wanna talk about ME!
I wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I like talking about you, you, you, you, usually, but occasionally
I wanna talk about meeeeeeee (me,me,me,me-background singers)
I wanna talk about me (me,me,-background singers)
I wanna talk about me (me,me,me,me,me,me-background singers)
Oh me!
-PJ
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.