Presidential Election 2004:
"Politigabble"

By Alan Shapiro

To the Teacher:

Russell Baker's "Politigabble" is as applicable to our current political season as it was to political speeches back when it was written thirty years ago. The essay offers students an opportunity to examine the language of the current crop of political candidates.

Reading: "Politigabble"

Here is an excerpt from "Politigabble" by political commentator Russell Baker.

"My fellow Americans"
Anybody who switches to the channel showing the movie is unpatriotic.

"It's wonderful to be back here in the American heartland"
What's the name of this dump?

"Let's look at the record"
Let's not.

"Peace with honor"
War.

"Never has the threat to democratic government been graver..."
My polls show I am likely to get beaten.

...."Without regard to race, creed or color"
Ho hum.

...."Let us remember that these wonderful young people are our citizens of tomorrow"
At present, however, they are still just punks.

"On the way over here a little girl came up to me and said..."
This isn't really true, of course, but my television adviser says it is good for my image to tell absurd anecdotes like this.

... "Now, I am going to be perfectly honest about this"
Oh no, I'm not.

For discussion

1) Ask students to write a one-sentence definition of "politigabble." Discuss.

2) Why do you suppose Baker called this piece "Politigabble"? What does such a word suggest about political speech? Since everyone knows that political speech is full of politigabble, why do you suppose politicians continue to use it?

3) Consider each of Baker's examples of "that strange tongue," politigabble, and its translation. Find terms in which:

• the politician means exactly the opposite of what he or she is saying to the public?
• the politician uses a word for its favorable connotations
• the politician has an ulterior motive
• the politician seems to be secretly bored by what he or she is saying?
• Is labeling such language "politigabble" fair to politicians? Why or why not?

(Note: A question may have more than one answer.)

For writing

Write and underline three more examples of "politigabble" from today's news. Use quotes you find in a daily newspaper about any of the following subjects: taxes, national security, education, the environment, jobs. Write an "English translation" for each quote you find.

This essay was written for TeachableMoment.Org, a project of Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility. We welcome your comments. Please email them to: lmcclure@morningsidecenter.org.

Back to top