Althouse: "I apologize by the way, I usually say 'heck,' especially after church. That sort of slipped out."

August 25, 2008

"I apologize by the way, I usually say 'heck,' especially after church. That sort of slipped out."

Obama apologized for saying "hell."

33 comments:

chickelit said...: I missed that sound bite...did he sound like Mercedes McCambridge when he said it?; 8/25/08, 8:44 AM
Paddy O said...: Unfortunate he corrected. All the young Evangelical/Christians that I know are voting for Obama swear freely as part of their expression of freedom.

He needs to be himself, hell and all.; 8/25/08, 8:51 AM
rhhardin said...: ``Sure as hell'' isn't swearing.

It means it's as sure as hell is.

``What the hell'' is swearing.; 8/25/08, 9:00 AM
J. Cricket said...: Is it swearing to call your wife a cunt, or is that just one of McCain's endearing features?; 8/25/08, 9:13 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: This demonstrates for once that Obama is actually human and not some religious icon,like ALGORE; bow if you must.

What the hell, why should he be any different than the rest of us?

The bigger question is why is this even news?; 8/25/08, 9:14 AM
Roger J. said...: Peter: because its preconvention space filler stuff and August is the doldrums for news?

Hell isnt bad; better than his former pastor's language from the pulpit!; 8/25/08, 9:19 AM
reader_iam said...: The hell!; 8/25/08, 10:09 AM
Unknown said...: "Is it swearing to call your wife a cunt, or is that just one of McCain's endearing features?"

That was first related in a book by Cliff Schecter, a Democratic activist, years after it supposedly happened. It was "confirmed" by 3 anonymous sources. This was all years later and was not reported at the time.

Prove it. Or do you just like throwing around four-letter words?; 8/25/08, 10:29 AM
TJ said...: Cheney's most humanizing moment?

"Go fuck yourself!"; 8/25/08, 10:30 AM
Roger J. said...: I thought Cheney's comment, directed as it was to Senator Lahey, was particularly humanizing and to the point. Since Cheney is not a senator he doesn't have to follow the Senate protocols of "my good friend," or "my friend from Vermont," while on the senate floor.; 8/25/08, 11:05 AM
Richard Lawrence Cohen said...: Let him be known henceforth as "give 'em heck Barack."

If Harry Truman had used that kind of language, our nation would have started going down the tubes a half-century ago instead of now.; 8/25/08, 11:20 AM
Unknown said...: Normally you get a day or two after church, but its damn hard to keep from saying hell these days. Sort of hard anyway.; 8/25/08, 11:30 AM
Meade said...: Or "give 'em heck Barry" if he wants to come across as folksy and of the people.

Man, he really is Jimmy Carter version 2.0, isn't he? Next thing you know he'll be apologizing for having lust in his heart and then blaming us for having the audacity to lose our hope for change we should have believed in but don't anymore, and then not, in fact, being the ones we thought we had been waiting for after all.

If he starts wearing cardigan sweaters, we are doomed.; 8/25/08, 11:48 AM
Bob said...: Are we to believe that Rev. Wright taught him to say Gosh DARN America!; 8/25/08, 11:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Technical quibble: "Go to hell" and "Damn you" mean exactly the same thing, and from the Christian point of view are literally the worst possible thing you can wish upon anyone or anything. They are definitely "swearing" or, more accurately, "cursing."

"What [in] the hell..." is an expression of extreme unpleasant surprise, connoting the speaker's belief, not only in hell, but that it is the origin of unpleasantly surprising things. Its use, IMHO, can't properly be considered "swearing" or "cursing," but can be considered vulgar.

Any man calling his wife a cunt--assuming that such a thing happened--most definitely qualifies as vulgar. Is it in the same league as damning someone or wishing them in hell? No, but Christians can't derive much comfort from that, as Jesus tells us that anyone who calls his brother a fool is in danger of bringing condemnation upon himself.

I think many people--most Christians, and certainly myself, included--tend to forget is that the behavior standards of Christianity are literally impossible to live up to. God's standard is perfection. If it were possible to achieve that, Christianity would be wholly unnecessary. This is also why I don't believe running around calling people sinners is very useful: it's wholly redundant, and some of the Bible's most striking passages (to me) are the ones that warn against attempting to extract the mote from my brother's eye before attending to the beam in my own, or against acting like the Pharisee who said "Thank God I'm not like that poor, miserable tax collector," or "judge not, lest ye be judged."

Each day has enough spiritual challenges of its own without adding to them the sins of pride and idolatry, at the very least, in presuming to usurp God's own role in other people's lives.; 8/25/08, 12:35 PM
Anonymous said...: The Prince of Insufficient Light will get him for that.; 8/25/08, 12:38 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Oh hell. Be man enough to say "hell."; 8/25/08, 12:48 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I'm not sure that I could possibly like Dick Cheney more than I like him now. I have an almost total aversion to all politicians, but not Cheney. I love Cheney.

I like Cheney for the same reason that I like Biden. Sure, I'd never vote for Biden; I don't agree with him on anything. But the man isn't afraid to say what he wants to say, and he says what he means. Very likable qualities.; 8/25/08, 12:52 PM
Synova said...: I think it's worse to say that he cleans his language up for church. Not that we don't all modify our language for the situation, of course. But in the end, if a word is wrong, it's wrong. Apologizing just brought attention to the fact that he uses some language that some wouldn't appreciate.

Christians don't wilt every time someone says a bad word. Being a different person on Sunday... that's different.; 8/25/08, 12:59 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "Being a different person on Sunday... that's different."

So the word doesn't cause wilting--unless the word is occasionally curtailed and limited, then we've got wiltingpalooza.

Cursing all the time = good. Limiting cursing = bad.

Got it.; 8/25/08, 1:20 PM
Synova said...: Got it?

Obviously not.

But that doesn't matter. There is no reason at all to bother trying to figure out how other people view things or how they think.

If they were *smart* they'd agree with you.; 8/25/08, 1:52 PM
Synova said...: Hypocrisy or a lack of integrity could pretty much be described as being a different person or expressing different opinions in different situations.

We all do it to some extent because there's an element of respecting other people. No need to rub their faces in what it's not necessary to rub their faces in.

But... "Sorry I forgot to pretend I don't use bad language?"

Not even, "I try to watch my language in public," but, "I try to watch my language at church?" It's just weird. Just one more example of how Obama doesn't relate to my life.; 8/25/08, 1:58 PM
Icepick said...: Obama apologized for saying "hell."

Who gives a shit?; 8/25/08, 2:05 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Outis: "Who gives a shit?"

Fuck you.; 8/25/08, 3:15 PM
chickelit said...: [Everybody sits bolt upright and tries hide the smell of blog as the good Professor shouts down into the basement]; 8/25/08, 3:41 PM
reader_iam said...: Well, I had thought to come in and simply post "Screw it!" because I thought Athouse was making a funny, in response to Outis making a funny, and I thought we could start a whole humorous string, but having read chickenlittle's interpretation, I'm thinking I should rethink my own and just duck back out of the room backwards.; 8/25/08, 3:47 PM
reader_iam said...: Well, except that I can't actually go backwards right now, at least not steadily, because I started this new health-store energizing program today, and it appears to have made what can only be described as more buzzed than I've been since junior year in college.

No joke.; 8/25/08, 3:52 PM
reader_iam said...: Whoo-hee! I wonder if this stuff should be legal!; 8/25/08, 3:53 PM
chickelit said...: Sshhh.
Is she still up there?

Hey I think she just posted something else funny so I guess it's OK.

pass that over here reader...; 8/25/08, 3:57 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: Impartial observer said...
Is it swearing to call your wife a cunt, or is that just one of McCain's endearing features?

My, my. Is it swearing to call you one?; 8/25/08, 4:09 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Maybe Ann's going after Rachel Lucas's market share or something?

:-); 8/25/08, 4:22 PM
Icepick said...: You guys can smoke blog all you want, but I prefer mine in brownie form.; 8/25/08, 8:33 PM
blake said...: There's really only one appropriate response here.

A rousing chorus of "Uncle Fucker!"; 8/25/08, 8:57 PM