Have you ever seen the amazing “cigarette that stands against the wall”?
June 24th, 2008 at 02:09pm Pat Cunningham
There was a lot of fuss in the blogosphere yesterday over news that Karl Rove, the most overrated political operative of his time, had publicly offered a strangely incongruous characterization of Barack Obama as “coolly arrogant.”
Said Rove: “Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He’s the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by.”
Never mind that Obama is hardly the type one associates with country clubs, martinis and snide comments. (I think poor Karl was resorting to what psychologists call “transference,” probably stemming from an episode in which some cool stud at a country made him envious.)
Anyway, this mischaracterization of Obama was so silly on its face that it only barely warrants comment. A worse offense, in my view, is the ungrammatical way in which Rove expressed himself.
His use of the pronoun “that” immediately after the noun “cigarette” made it sound as if it was the cigarette, not the cool guy, that was standing against the wall.
The rule in matters like these calls for the pronoun “who” (or “whom”) when referring to people and the pronoun “that” when referring to inanimate objects. Hence, the right way is to refer to a “plumber who was working in the kitchen,” not a “plumber that was working in the kitchen.”
We see this rule violated all the time, in writing as well as in speech. About a year ago, I left a comment on one of my favorite liberal blogs, complaining about the guy’s regular misuse of the pronoun “that.” All I got for my bother, however, was a snarky dismissal.
I suppose Karl Rove won’t heed my advice, either. He never does.
POSTSCRIPT: Upon further reflection, I think we should give Rove credit for using the correct pronoun in the phrase about “everyone who passes by.” That makes him a half-wit rather than a nitwit.
Entry Filed under: Karl Rove, Barack Obama
7 Comments Add your own
1. Menlo Bob | June 24th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
It’s understandable that you’d want Rove seen in the worst possible light. However, you may want to blame a member of the news media, such as Christianne Klein of ABC. She was the one who quotes Rove saying It is equally possible that it wasn’t an accurate quote.
As for the arrogance. Lots of people have noticed. Such as
Ron Fournier and Bonnie Erbe.
2. Pat Cunningham | June 24th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Bob: Rove casts himself “in the worst possible light” just about every time he opens his mouth. Nor has he denied saying that crap about the cool guy at the country club. What an idiot!
3. Menlo Bob | June 24th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Rove verified the exact wording? Where?
4. Leatherneck | June 24th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I don’t know Obama, but in all fairness, he does not strike me as the kind of guy who makes snide comments.
5. Pat Cunningham | June 25th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Bob: Where did I say Rove verified the exact wording?
6. Menlo Bob | June 25th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Pat–put down the bottle and concentrate. Your post dealt, in part, with a grammatical error. Because the error was embedded in the words of a woman from ABC, we can’t say for certain if Rove said those exact words. You answer “Nor has he denied saying that crap about the cool buy at the country club”, which indicates that Rove consented to a grammatical error. I believe that Rove said something along the lines quoted, but in order for your post to have validity, Rove would have had to use the sentence construction you criticized.
7. Pat Cunningham | June 25th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Bob: The ABC reporter put quote marks around the comments made by Rove, which reporters do all the time when they’re covering speeches. Rove has not denied saying what ABC said he said. If he was misquoted — either with regard to the gist of his remarks or the language he used — you would expect him to say he was misquoted. He has not so said. End of story.
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