English Language Buffs Rejoice!

Thanks to Mary for sending this link my way. I really enjoyed the 60 Minutes interview of the Obamas last Sunday. This is one reason why.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 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.

English teachers across the country must be feeling the love. Of course, sometimes it's useful to have bad grammar to correct. I remember Mrs. Libby, our 6th grade teacher at the Jonathan Bright School in Waltham, sending us home to watch TV ads and listen to radio to try and catch grammatical errors for homework. "Winston tastes good AS as cigarette should" she'd say.

Yes, I'm old. I remember cigarette ads on TV. Why not LIKE a cigarette should, you ask? Because LIKE is used for metaphors, AS is used for similes. Because Winstons ARE cigarettes, it is not a metaphor. See? Lessons like that stick! Think what she could have done with Sarah Palin: "Watch the debate tonight for homework, kids. Choose a sentence and diagram it". Mrs. Libby was big on diagramming sentences.

Anyway, great sense of humor, Andy Borowitz!