Chunk 12: Malarkey for the masses.
During her last term at school, my eldest daughter, Yassie (shout out), had to complete a project on the film, "The King's Speech". Having seen that film one and a bit times myself, there was one particular scene that has stayed with me.
King George VI and his family are sitting in an improvised theatre inside Buckingham Palace, watching newsreel footage of Adolf Hitler bellowing before thousands and thousands of mesmerised German soldiers.
The King's youngest daughter, who would later become Queen Elizabeth II, turns to him and asks, "Papa, what is he saying?".
"I don't know," George VI replies. "But he seems to be saying it rather well."
Like the former English king, Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, has suffered from a debilitating stutter throughout his life. It's something that he has worked hard to overcome, because it often makes him appear as though he is searching for what to say, when - or so he claims - it's actually more the effort to get the words out at all.
This week, with the US election polls tightening, Biden will give the most important speech of his life, while accepting his party’s nomination for President of the United States. (The convention begins today in cyberspace.) It’ll be a big step up, because the truth is, in the 48 years since he first entered public life as a US senator, Biden hasn't said an awful lot that's been particularly noteworthy.
In fact, should you bother to Google "Joe Biden memorable quotes" (don't worry, I’ve done it for you), this is what you get:
Joe Biden Stupid Quotes, Dumb Quotes - AllGreatQuotes
Enjoy the best online collection of Joe Biden Stupid quotes at AllGreatQuotes. Share with your friends!
Now, I’m guessing he’d prefer that you don't share it with your friends. Having previously described himself as a “human gaffe machine”, Biden has tried to make his struggle speaking an example of his relatability; his folksy charm. He’s a fan of the word “malarkey”, which he claims draws on his Irish heritage as a more pleasant way of saying “bullshit”. But will that be good enough on a debate stage against an unpredictable President Trump? Maybe, maybe not.
One remark, played over and over in endless media loops, can either make you (“Yes we can!” - Barack Obama), or break you (“… binders full of women.” - Mitt Romney).
No doubt Biden has his team of advisers writing and polling sound bites with various parts of the electorate to see what plays best. America has heard very little from Biden throughout this highly irregular election campaign. So when they do, it better be good.
And should he win the presidency, he’ll have to be even better than good. Because the enormous mess that he will inherit will take the gift of the gab of all 45 presidents who have preceded him.
Or, it being America, maybe his words won’t matter at all.
In 1983, a Democrat named Edwin Edwards, while running for governor of Louisiana, once said: “The only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.”.
He won.
