Scratching my head a bit at this Lindsey Graham release:
Graham ‘Honored’ to Be Part of Gov. Haley’s Inauguration
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made the following statement to celebrate South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s inauguration for a second term.
“I’m honored and excited to be part of Governor Haley’s inauguration,” said Graham. “It’s a big day for the state of South Carolina, Governor Haley, her family, and her many supporters. I look forward to continue working with Governor Haley to get things done as she continues to recruit new businesses and high-paying jobs to our state. South Carolina is in good hands under her leadership.”
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Yeah, I get it — the senator felt that he should say something about the inauguration, and this was the something he came up with, so don’t read too much into it. I know what it’s like to feel like you have to come up with something when you’re not inspired. (It doesn’t happen to me too often, but it happens.)
But taking the words he did choose at face value, it makes me wonder — had anyone been speculating that Graham was somehow less than pleased that she got re-elected, or that there was something else unpleasant between them?
Nah. I’m just overthinking it…
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” had anyone been speculating that Graham was somehow less than pleased that she got re-elected, ”
In psychology, that’s known as “projecting”.
Haley received a higher percentage of votes than Graham in November. Haley got 696,645 votes to Graham’s 672,941. He knows how to be obsequious when he needs to. In fact, I call that one of his core competencies.
I think what struck me was that fastidious use of quotation marks around the word “honored” in the headline.
Usually, you would think that a release FROM Graham’s office wouldn’t feel the need to put something he said in quotes. It should be able to just say, with confidence, that he is honored — no need for attribution. But it’s not a WRONG use of punctuation. It just kind of jumped out at me.
The BBC uses quotation marks that way, as part of its “if your mother says she loves you, check it out” brand of journalistic skepticism. If the U.S. or U.K. government says a terrorist leader was killed in a drone strike — something for which the Beeb has only that one source — it will say something like “Terrorist leader ‘killed’ in strike.”
Most news outlets, feeling constrained to attribute (and thereby express a modicum of doubt” would instead tell you who was saying it in the hed. Such as, “White House: Terrorist leader killed in strike.”
Because the BBC way communicates a bit too MUCH distance and doubt. Rather than saying, “we don’t know for sure,” it seems to hint, “We don’t think for a moment this actually happened.”
And that’s sort of the way the Graham headline felt…
Probably no normal person out there would have been struck by it the way I was…
Yeah. I think you’re over-thinking it. But you just keep thinkin’, Butch…
… That’s what I’m good at.
Too many years of thinking too hard about words, punctuation and usage…
Wanna bet the writer of that press release was 22 or 23? Overthinking this…
Not sure. A web search seems to indicate that he MAY have been in prep school as recently as 2009, but I guess that could be a different Lorcan Connick…
He graduated from UVA in 2012.
To me, the release still makes him sound a little like Luca Brasi at Connie’s wedding… as though he didn’t expect to be invited…
“Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your daughter’s wedding… on the day of your daughter’s wedding. And I hope that their first child be a masculine child. I pledge my never-ending loyalty.”
You know… awkward…
Well done. For timely and appropriate use of The Godfather, I award ten points for Gryffindor.
The press release reads like it was cribbed from “Press Release Templates for Dummies.” It’s so generic as to be damning with faint praise.
You mean, like nothing specific about the event that made an impression?
Exactly–there is nothing in it that could not be said about pretty much any similar occasion. It’s like Template 2.3 –Inauguration (Red State)
Usually when I see something like that, I expect that there may be a little irony, or a lot of sarcasm involved. Since it came from his office, I must assume that whichever of his aides put it out there was just plain tone deaf to the subtleties of punctuation.