Saw this quote in the Chicago Reader, of all places, and couldn't stop thinking about it. Speaking is Mark Crispin Miller, author of Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder, on GW Bush:

"He has no trouble speaking off the cuff when he's speaking punitively, when he's talking about violence, when he's talking about revenge. When he struts and thumps his chest, his syntax and grammar are fine. It's only when he leaps into the wild blue yonder of compassion, or idealism, or altruism, that he makes these hilarious mistakes."

Now, I'm not about to claim I've never made a mistake when speaking. I still have nightmares about some of the embarassing things I've said over the years. But I started to wonder about this quote--if it was true. Best source I could find to check is the Slate "Complete Bushisms" page. While there are some notable exceptions to the rule, it is true that he seems to stumble on the language of abstracts more often than not.

This discomfort may explain a quality that E. and I noticed the other night--the refusal to admit that Americans are not of one mind about many issues, including the apparently imminent war. "If he could at least admit there are differences of opinion, I'd feel better," E. said. But the capability to recognize dissent may require a subtlety that a) wouldn't serve the current agenda and/or b) just isn't there. Nothing's scarier, in a way, than to look at all the options and recognize that points of view other than yours may be valid.

Of course, I could be completely wrong.