Bush should watch his mouth, whether or not he sees mike
Bush should watch his mouth, whether or not he sees mike
BY MARK BROWN
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
July 18, 2006
Of all the reasons to not want to run for high public office in this country, right up there at the top of the list would be always having to be so careful about what you say. Personally, I thank my lucky stars that my own spoken words aren't "scrootened" every day the same way that we "scrooten" what others have to say -- to borrow a phrase from Mayor Daley.
I wouldn't last the first hour of having microphones around to pick up my every public pronouncement, let alone the ones that I thought were private, which is where President Bush made his big mistake Monday.
Bush, whose halting speech always gives the impression he's worried about saying the wrong thing when he's in public, got himself in trouble Monday by using a swear word in front of an open microphone during what he thought was a private conversation with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
''See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this [bleep] and it's over,'' Bush said, expressing his theory on how to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Following the lead of the major television networks, I'm not going to use the word. I swear too much as it is. But as there are a couple of four-letter possibilities that would fit, I should probably explain to the curious who didn't hear it on CNN that the president used the one that rhymes with spit.
An excuse to replay the quote
It hardly comes as a surprise these days that presidents of the United States use such words, Richard Nixon having broken that barrier for all time.
Neither is it much of a surprise from Bush, a cowboy wannabe after all who previously was caught by an open microphone calling a New York Times reporter "a major league [bleep]" (two syllables, rhymes with mole).
But this will not stop those of us in the news media from analyzing it to death -- if only to give us an excuse to replay the quote.
Bush should have known better. When you step out in public as the president of the United States or mayor of Chicago -- or even the manager of the World Champion White Sox, as Ozzie Guillen has learned this year -- there's always going to be a microphone somewhere close at hand.
'I get scrootened every day'
It was Daley who famously observed of media scrutiny: "How much scrutiny do you want to have? Go scrutinize yourself. I get scrootened every day, don't worry, from each and every one of you. It doesn't bother me."
Whether it bothers him or not, he handles it well, with relatively few quotable gaffes considering the amount of time he spends in harm's way.
To appreciate the difficulty, look at the case of Ald. William Beavers, who has always endeared himself to the news media because he doesn't have a self-censorship button. If he sees a situation in its bald racial implications, he says so. When he's looking for his share of the patronage pie, he's not shy about it. That works fine when you're speaking for your 7th Ward constituents, but when you try to take that show countywide as he has during the past month as the spokesmen for the whole government, the audience is less appreciative.
You're bound to slip up
One of the reasons I don't do a lot of radio or television is that I like to choose my words carefully. It makes me too nervous when I know that I can't take back and rewrite the next dumb thing out of my mouth.
It's tough enough with the written word. Last week, I was trying to poke fun at Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica for inventing the word "scrimmishing" during a County Board meeting, which I saw as nothing more than his version of "scrootened." But then I made reference to his background as a native Croatian, which made it come off as if I was making some sort of ethnic slur. When you put your words in front of the public every day, you're bound to slip up.
So I'm sympathetic to a president who lets slip with the occasional swear word, my own vocabulary having deteriorated until I have no moral authority on the subject -- sadly, not even with my children.
A lost cause
I've tried to make the kids understand that swearing is a bad habit that will cause people to respect them less, but it's too late. They've heard too much.
It's not that I personally lose respect for somebody who swears, because nearly everybody swears. But when you're around somebody for a long time and you realize that they don't use those words, it's impressive.
The president is undoubtedly another lost cause on the subject of swearing, but maybe he's finally learned his lesson about open microphones.
BY MARK BROWN
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
July 18, 2006
Of all the reasons to not want to run for high public office in this country, right up there at the top of the list would be always having to be so careful about what you say. Personally, I thank my lucky stars that my own spoken words aren't "scrootened" every day the same way that we "scrooten" what others have to say -- to borrow a phrase from Mayor Daley.
I wouldn't last the first hour of having microphones around to pick up my every public pronouncement, let alone the ones that I thought were private, which is where President Bush made his big mistake Monday.
Bush, whose halting speech always gives the impression he's worried about saying the wrong thing when he's in public, got himself in trouble Monday by using a swear word in front of an open microphone during what he thought was a private conversation with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
''See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this [bleep] and it's over,'' Bush said, expressing his theory on how to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Following the lead of the major television networks, I'm not going to use the word. I swear too much as it is. But as there are a couple of four-letter possibilities that would fit, I should probably explain to the curious who didn't hear it on CNN that the president used the one that rhymes with spit.
An excuse to replay the quote
It hardly comes as a surprise these days that presidents of the United States use such words, Richard Nixon having broken that barrier for all time.
Neither is it much of a surprise from Bush, a cowboy wannabe after all who previously was caught by an open microphone calling a New York Times reporter "a major league [bleep]" (two syllables, rhymes with mole).
But this will not stop those of us in the news media from analyzing it to death -- if only to give us an excuse to replay the quote.
Bush should have known better. When you step out in public as the president of the United States or mayor of Chicago -- or even the manager of the World Champion White Sox, as Ozzie Guillen has learned this year -- there's always going to be a microphone somewhere close at hand.
'I get scrootened every day'
It was Daley who famously observed of media scrutiny: "How much scrutiny do you want to have? Go scrutinize yourself. I get scrootened every day, don't worry, from each and every one of you. It doesn't bother me."
Whether it bothers him or not, he handles it well, with relatively few quotable gaffes considering the amount of time he spends in harm's way.
To appreciate the difficulty, look at the case of Ald. William Beavers, who has always endeared himself to the news media because he doesn't have a self-censorship button. If he sees a situation in its bald racial implications, he says so. When he's looking for his share of the patronage pie, he's not shy about it. That works fine when you're speaking for your 7th Ward constituents, but when you try to take that show countywide as he has during the past month as the spokesmen for the whole government, the audience is less appreciative.
You're bound to slip up
One of the reasons I don't do a lot of radio or television is that I like to choose my words carefully. It makes me too nervous when I know that I can't take back and rewrite the next dumb thing out of my mouth.
It's tough enough with the written word. Last week, I was trying to poke fun at Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica for inventing the word "scrimmishing" during a County Board meeting, which I saw as nothing more than his version of "scrootened." But then I made reference to his background as a native Croatian, which made it come off as if I was making some sort of ethnic slur. When you put your words in front of the public every day, you're bound to slip up.
So I'm sympathetic to a president who lets slip with the occasional swear word, my own vocabulary having deteriorated until I have no moral authority on the subject -- sadly, not even with my children.
A lost cause
I've tried to make the kids understand that swearing is a bad habit that will cause people to respect them less, but it's too late. They've heard too much.
It's not that I personally lose respect for somebody who swears, because nearly everybody swears. But when you're around somebody for a long time and you realize that they don't use those words, it's impressive.
The president is undoubtedly another lost cause on the subject of swearing, but maybe he's finally learned his lesson about open microphones.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 6:48 AM
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