Posted on 01/29/2011 5:40:53 AM PST by relictele
Impressionists, cartoonists, and even historians rely heavily on identifying and amplifying the physical and verbal idiosyncrasies of public figures, especially presidents.
Their constant presence in the media means that their pet phrases and mannerisms become familiar to all (even against our will) as the inevitable caricatures demonstrate.
There was Reagan's "Well..." and a shrug of the shoulders, GHWB41's slow-motion karate chops on the top of the lectern, Clinton's raised index finger, etc.
Obama is a special case, however, as he rarely has anything to say of substance (or truth, if you like) beyond the verbal window dressing.
His "Let me be clear..." has already passed into legend for its annoying frequency of use and its contradictory nature - for what he says after rarely contains one iota of clarity.
Less frequent - but more insidious - is Obama's reliance on the pet phrase "I've said repeatedly." He occasionally changes it to "I've said in the past" or "I've said all along" but it is his go-to phrase especially in one-on-one interviews.
It sounds harmless enough until you realize several things:
1) He will claim to have said something in the past when no evidence of same can be found.
2) He believes that use of this phrase somehow confers a continuity of purpose, philosophy, policy or action when we know full well this is not the case.
3) He believes that an inherently wrongheaded idea or plan somehow gains validity if it exists for an extended period of time.
4) He uses it as a sort of after-the-fact clairvoyance. When the market dips, when home prices fall, when jobs are lost, Obama will claim to have "said repeatedly" that action X, Y or Z should have been taken. Of course, he never gets round to identifying or taking that action BEFORE negative consequences occur.
At the risk of drawing further attention to the more maddening aspects of this intellectual lightweight, I have reached the breaking point with this particular verbal trip hammer of his. It is his umbrella, his shield, his front porch. Count (if you can stand it) the frequency and quantity of "I've said repeatedly." This man cannot stand to be in the wrong. And if he is in the wrong (that is to say, most days), he will claim to have been in the right, safe in the knowledge that nobody within a 100-mile radius of the White House has the nerve nor the initiative to challenge him on the most rudimentary of facts.
The sad part about what is said here is most Liberals believe just as he does and so does the uneducated.
Indeed!
There is a lady in Alaska that will speak truth to Zero's madness!
Elect Sarah Palin for President 2012
Re-Elect President Sarah Palin 2016
Life sucks if You’re Obama. He has to rationalize his weakness somehow.
“I’ve said repeatedly.”
I’ve said all along, repeatedly, and, obviously, in the past that the man is a dangerous fraud, and it is true.
Sounds like you have the beginnings of a fine drinking game.
Truth for truth seekers is never hard to find. The difficulty is in breaking down the truth for analysis. The reason we do analysis of the truth is so we can digest and assimilate it as part of our overall understanding of the reality of the world around us. By so doing, we learn how to prosper, have peace and avoid disaster... aka wisdom, a biblical precept for living well.
You have done a fine job of observing the truth and analyzing it here. And that truth is regarding a man in the single most powerful position in the world as he skirts the truth and tries to shade it to his liking with the hopes of fooling the masses... he has never fooled me, yet I don’t think I’ve ever thought as deeply on the use of this man’s language as you have. And you have shed precious light, exposing a manipulative mind trick Obama uses with near perfect immunity. I see what you have written and say, “Amen Bro!!”
C'mon. Tell the truth. How many of you would like to take that finger and bend it back...?
That is also my pet peeve. You have done a fine job of explaining why it annoys so much.
In addition,
1) It reminds me of Clinton saying “Let me say this again, I did not.....” It is a liar’s tell.
2) It reminds me of the time he said “I can’t go around with my birth certificate plastered to my forehead.” When he had never actually shown the long form.... It is a liar’s tell.
3) And to just add my two cents to your analysis, it reveals a hollow man playing a psychological shell game with himself in which he moves the shells very quickly but never stops to look under any of them because he knows there is nothing under any of them. /amature psycholotist.
Let me be clear that I’ve been saying all this all along.
“I told you so!”
Typical of communists, which start out their lies with, “As is commonly known ..... “
There is usually evidence that he said the exact opposite in the past and is subject to switch back in the future. He is a narcissist with no core values onto which to anchor. Therefore, the most often phrases you hear are I and Me and derivatives thereof. Contradictions are inevitable.
Bill Clinton was the same, just smoother.
Try taking a shot every time he says “Look”. He uses it to try to regain control when he gets backed into a corner or he wants to redirect the conversation.
You’ll be under the table in no time.
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