Former US House Speaker John Boehner’s use of intemperate language for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz brings the vitriolic campaign to a point of inflection wherein the ‘swearing curve’, so to say, is showing a steep climb. Being a Republican himself, Boehner’s indignation towards the divisive Cruz is understandable. The Texas Senator was one of the main politicians who brought the House of Representatives to a halt in 2013.
The use of unparliamentary language in the US presidential election has been more of a political issue than a cultural one. First, it was the incorrigible Donald Trump who used denigrating language for a Fox News presenter. His use of the term had the feminist, political and social establishments baying for the tycoon’s blood.
The gravitas and poise becoming of a presidential candidate, so much on display in the past, is now a thing not to be aspired for. That is what the changing times tell us. While Cruz has been invoking the almighty’s name in his speeches, Trump has gone berserk with the English language. When cornered, he sounds ill at ease and tried to shoot from the hip.
While the campaigns of Ronald Reagan, George W Bush and Barack Obama are known for their largely pacifist content, the current battle for the highest office in the United States and arguably the most powerful position in the world has been riven by personal remarks and a lot of mud-slinging in the hope that some if it sticks. Trump even made unsavoury comments about Cruz’s spouse. In response, the livid Texas Senator responded with alacrity.
Even the relatively soft-spoken Hillary Clinton is seen to be aggressive in her speeches and the former Secretary of State has been recently known not to pull her punches. Trump got back at her in one of his recent speeches by saying that the Democrat wouldn’t have got a fraction of the vote if she were not a woman.
A billionaire, a cultivated former Secretary of State and a right-leaning politician have been locked in a war of words that often gets murky. The muck flying around in the election scene has got messier to the extent that there has also been mention of the male organ.
While poise and decency have been thrown to the winds, the brusque and blunt American stereotype has been reinforced by the way the candidates behave. An attempt at the US presidency needs to go beyond the use of pejoratives and foul language.
Former US House Speaker John Boehner’s use of intemperate language for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz brings the vitriolic campaign to a point of inflection wherein the ‘swearing curve’, so to say, is showing a steep climb. Being a Republican himself, Boehner’s indignation towards the divisive Cruz is understandable. The Texas Senator was one of the main politicians who brought the House of Representatives to a halt in 2013.
The use of unparliamentary language in the US presidential election has been more of a political issue than a cultural one. First, it was the incorrigible Donald Trump who used denigrating language for a Fox News presenter. His use of the term had the feminist, political and social establishments baying for the tycoon’s blood.
The gravitas and poise becoming of a presidential candidate, so much on display in the past, is now a thing not to be aspired for. That is what the changing times tell us. While Cruz has been invoking the almighty’s name in his speeches, Trump has gone berserk with the English language. When cornered, he sounds ill at ease and tried to shoot from the hip.
While the campaigns of Ronald Reagan, George W Bush and Barack Obama are known for their largely pacifist content, the current battle for the highest office in the United States and arguably the most powerful position in the world has been riven by personal remarks and a lot of mud-slinging in the hope that some if it sticks. Trump even made unsavoury comments about Cruz’s spouse. In response, the livid Texas Senator responded with alacrity.
Even the relatively soft-spoken Hillary Clinton is seen to be aggressive in her speeches and the former Secretary of State has been recently known not to pull her punches. Trump got back at her in one of his recent speeches by saying that the Democrat wouldn’t have got a fraction of the vote if she were not a woman.
A billionaire, a cultivated former Secretary of State and a right-leaning politician have been locked in a war of words that often gets murky. The muck flying around in the election scene has got messier to the extent that there has also been mention of the male organ.
While poise and decency have been thrown to the winds, the brusque and blunt American stereotype has been reinforced by the way the candidates behave. An attempt at the US presidency needs to go beyond the use of pejoratives and foul language.
