Beware the Passive Voice: Was Philandering Newt Gingrich Victim of a Prankish Poltergeist?
How Sentence Structure Reveals Bad Character
What struck me as more revealing than Gingrich's attempt to make his extra-marital escapades sound more patriotic than apple pie was his refusal to take responsibility for them. The most telling part of Gingrich's quote was not how passionate he felt about his country, but the simple phrase "things happened in my life." Who made these things happen? A poltergeist? Why not just say, "I did things that were not appropriate"?
The answer is pretty obvious. Some people, particularly some politicians, do not like to take blame for mistakes for which they are responsible. When a person uses the passive voice, there is no actor in the sentence; no one is at fault. Things just happen willy-nilly, for no apparent reason.
"Mistakes Were Made"
Perhaps the most classic rhetorical construct politicians use to evade responsibility is the weaselly phrase "mistakes were made." A New York Times article traced this lame linguistic device back to Richard Nixon, citing Ronald Reagan's subsequent use of this passive voice phrase in the Iran-Contra scandal and Bill Clinton's use in the Zoe Baird nanny fiasco, among others. The only person who fails to perceive the phrase "mistakes were made" as a sleazy ruse is the person who made the mistake and is too cowardly to admit it. Despite its popularity among politicians, the tactic typically boomerangs. From the public's perspective, worse than making a mistake is not owning up to it.
"It Got Late"
Of course, politicians are not the only people who like to evade blame with the passive voice. When a friend of mine used to forget or neglect to do something, he would offer the excuse, "It got late." It became a joke between us, but I learned not to count on that person. Between earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, sometimes things just do happen. Missing work because your house is flooded by a storm is not your fault. But if it's just drizzling, and you forget to set your alarm, don't blame the rain.
When Newt Gingrich looks back on his failed bid for the presidency, reporters will ask him what went wrong. "Mistakes were made and things happened," Gingrich will tell them - and then lash out at the liberal media for subverting his candidacy.
Published by Nancy Tracy - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment
Nancy Tracy is a Yahoo! Featured Contributor for arts & entertainment. She enjoys writing about a variety of topics from psychology to politics to popular culture. Her article on "Transient Global Amnesia" w... View profile
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18 Comments
Post a CommentRIGHT ON!!!!!
A wolf in sheep's clothing. How can any act of adultury be explained away or excused, whether in political office or out? It makes the perpertrator lose all sense of worth, and it can never repair a broken vow in a marriage, always simmering on the back burner. My concern is about the personality trait in the accuser, by being able to blatantly lie and cover their mistakes. But, shamefully power and ego take over, in politics too and we vote them in. Go crawl back in your hole Newt.
Love this!! I still have the "No Newt" phone card from Working Assets wayyy back in the day. I knew he was slime when he served the first wife with divorce papers while she was in the hospital with cancer.
He's just so passionate about his country that he wants to show that passion to each woman individually? Wonder if I can use that line of "reasoning" to make excuses for myself.
Hm. Strange excuse.... I'm pretty sure adultry is a no-no no matter how overworked you are.
And he wants to be President! A new low!
So, he just got so carried away with love for his country that adultery was committed.
Great piece, Nancy. And Ms. Lorraine Cohen, why is it sickening Repuglicans like you ALWAYS feel the need to try and justify the BS of those who represent your side by pointing out (in this case completely irrelevant and hardly analogous) things Democrats have done? Why not simply say, "Hey, Nancy, you know what, you're absolutely correct. What Newt did there was pathetic." and be done with it? I'll tell you why, because you are deluded enough to believe NOTHING Repuglicans do can't be justified by your twisted belief Democrats are evil...lmao
"Mistakes" were made by our most popular presidents and loved politicians. And glossed over by language more obfuscating than passives. Witness the questioned meaning of "IS," (It all depends on what you mean by 'is') and outright denial ("I did not have sex with that woman.") If we wish to judge leadership by sexual behavior, we would have no man in the pool of talent.
"I only had sex with that other woman who was not my wife because I...just...(wiping away tear) ...LOVE THIS COUNTRY TOO MUCH!!!"