subject: Does President Obama Need To Watch His Language? [print this page] Does President Obama Need To Watch His Language?
Is the US President out of line with his language? President Barrack Obama has been dealing with the tricky BP oil spill in the Mexican gulf region recently as well as busy talking to local fishermen and cleaning up experts to find an immediate solution. Needless to say, not much has been done while the well under the sea continued to spat out over 40,000 barrels of oil every day. There have been a lot of fingers pointing towards the Obama administration for not taking swift action to contain the crisis.
The President was being interviewed on the US Today Show where the host asked the president that if it was the right time now to stop talking and start kicking some butt. To that question, President Obama gave an unexpected answer which raised some eyebrows amongst the American public.
These were the exact words from the President, "I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick."
The ass kicking comment triggered a surge in internet searches as many wanted to hear it with their own ears. Some expressed disbelieve and were determined to hear the broadcast recording again. But President Obama clearly uttered the ass kicking phrase on national TV.
A school teacher commented that those words are at the lowest end of swearing and he had heard a lot more offensive terms than that. However, some disagreed and argued that the President has the highest leadership position in the country; therefore, Obama has the responsibility to set a good example to the American public. If the President of the United States of America can use profanity in public television broadcast, does this mean children have a legitimate reason to use it in their daily lives?
Some were more considerate as they thought that given the dire circumstances of the oil spill in the Gulf region, President Obama only intended to make a strong point. They still thought President Obama is a good role model as the President had acted in extremely good manners in the past, but hoped that he will not be using profanity anytime soon.
President Obama is not the first American leader to use the ass kicking phrase. President G.W. Bush commented, "We are kicking ass" about the Iraq war. In 1984, President George H.W. Bush uttered, "We kicked a little ass tonight" after a debate.
A linguistic expert warned that profanity has become a mainstream culture and it will soon be a problem. The more we are used to cursing, the lazier we become, and we are going to start forgetting the accurate and meaningful words used to describe a certain situation.
However, some think that a little cursing will not do much harm because the President was being real and honest about his feelings on the oil spill situation. They agreed that it is not appropriate to use profanity frequently, but under special circumstances, it does bring the message home. Perhaps this BP oil spill crisis has gone on long enough that most people would agree it is an appropriate occasion to get down and kick some ass.
