Thatโs George Willโs reading of the Obamasโ trip to Copenhagen last week:
Both Obamas gave heartfelt speeches about . . . themselves. Although the working of the committeeโs mind is murky, it could reasonably have rejected Chicagoโs bid for the 2016 Games on aesthetic grounds โ unless narcissism has suddenly become an Olympic sport.
In the 41 sentences of her remarks, Michelle Obama used some form of the personal pronouns โIโ or โmeโ 44 times. Her husband was, comparatively, a shrinking violet, using those pronouns only 26 times in 48 sentences. Still, 70 times in 89 sentences conveyed the message that somehow their fascinating selves were what made, or should have made, Chicagoโs case compelling.
He concludes:
Presidents often come to be characterized by particular adjectives: โhonestโ Abe Lincoln, โGrover the Goodโ Cleveland, โenergeticโ Theodore Roosevelt, โidealisticโ Woodrow Wilson, โSilent Calโ Coolidge, โconfidentโ FDR, โlikableโ Ike Eisenhower. Less happily, there were โTricky Dickโ Nixon and โSlick Willieโ Clinton. Unhappy will be a president whose defining adjective is โvain.โ
The whole thing here.






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