Washington’s Wacky Wordplay

To the Editor,
With the presidential and senatorial campaign season begun (did it ever end?) we should be aware of the rhetorical culture we are dealing with here. Euphemisms: Those nice sounding words or phrases used in place of something less pleasant or perhaps factual. Washington loves them. Thus instead of accusing someone, particularly a politician, of lying it’s said they are disingenuous, though lying is likely the more accurate term. And in Beltway-speak the term “spin” is used in place of deception…just a different point of view? More like purposeful misleading.
All this stuff gets intense during official campaign season though it launches from a pretty high background “noise’ level holding forth all the time in D.C. The victim in all this political theater is the truth which all sides of the political saga claim belongs to them as truth sayers (who may in fact be being disingenuous.) But George Orwell’s book “1984” spawned concepts like “doublethink” and “Newspeak” which combine to make “doublespeak.” That is, saying one thing and meaning another, often just the opposite. So as we meet this deluge of campaign rhetoric we need remember it is not words and promises that count. but actions. For those seeking to replace ones in office we can but speculate what they will actually do if elected.
In President Obama’s case I think we know. More spending, token debt reduction and lots of redistribution of incomes plus class warfare in spades. With his opposition who knows? They talk a tough game of fiscal rectitude, but what will or can they actually do? So much depends on the make up and power bases in Congress and the White House. And for the presidency whom will they offer? I see no overwhelming candidates who might have the charm, charisma and message to beat Obama. That scares me because I fear what Obama might do as a lame duck president with nothing to lose but a tarnished legacy. Depends on how much help or resistance he gets from Congress and how much skirting of the Constitution we stand for.
Barring a “gee whiz,” dark-horse opponent, horrendous scandal or major goof on Obama’s part, looks like four more years of his progressive utopian quest, which we can, in no way, afford. Whatever the election outcome, it is first and foremost about political power despite the nice sounding words and ideas.
OK, so maybe these are just the ranting of a cranky old curmudgeon, but the shenanigans in D.C. keep turning my crank!
BOB LOVELL
Court House