Legal Writing

This means "war"? No, it doesn't

A thoughtful reader wrote to ask that we at The N&O avoid using the language of war to refer to political campaigns. He listed a few terms that show up in political reporting: battleground states, all-out attack ads, war chest, opposing camps.

I was reminded of the reader's words as I watched "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" one day last week. Rob Riggle was doing a report about the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, emphasizing that mainstream TV reports were calling the primary votes Tuesday "do or die." In the bit titled "Mortal Kombat '08," Riggle said one candidate, Obama or Clinton, would win and the other one would die. Riggle, whose reports I love not just because he's funny but also because he's a former Marine who went to Iraq last year to report for "The Daily Show," was spoofing the hyperbole of television reporters, anchors and especially spittle-spewing pundits. Of course, no primary vote is "do or die." It's just politics, people! And given that some of our leaders and candidates have been assassinated or nearly assassinated, it truly is uncomfortable to hear folks on TV talk about "do or die." It's just wrong.

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Full post as published by Triangle Grammar Guide on March 09, 2008 (boomark / email).