Obama's Controversial Style..

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy - Stunning Break
with Last Eight Years

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack
Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight
years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political
observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS'
"Sixty Minutes" on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox
verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct
sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public
pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last
eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of
Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a
President who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in
agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the
risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete
sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay,
subject, predicate, subject predicate - we get it, stop showing off."

The President-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences
has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov.
Sarah Palin of Alaska. "Talking with complete sentences there and also
too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and
Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that
isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.

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