Said Barack Obama, quoted in the Washington Post account of yesterday's memorial service for Reid.
It's the "deeply" that gets you. It draws so much attention to "good." We might have let it go — was Harry Reid good? — if "deeply" hadn't forced us to stop and stare.
I haven't used my "deeply (the word!)" tag since last May.
Here's the original post — in 2014 — where I created the tag.
Here's the original post — in 2014 — where I created the tag.
There are so many trite usages — deeply in love, deeply disappointed, deeply religious, thinking deeply, deeply troubled, deeply concerned, deeply offended, deeply regret — and "deeply" is deeply embedded in constitutional law doctrine with the phrase "deeply rooted in this nation's history and tradition."
I went back into my own archive to see how I had used it over the years and, funnily enough, the first thing on my list was about something Obama famously said about Kamala Harris:
1. "Beauty is a system of power, deeply rooted, preceding all others, richly rewarded," wrote Garace Franke-Ruta, explaining "Why Obama's 'Best-Looking Attorney General' Comment Was a Gaffe."...
Oh, what's not a gaffe these days?
But back to the memorial service. Biden and Pelosi spoke too, and both of them told a joke premised on the reputation Reid had for being untalkative.
Here's Biden joke : "Harry and I both liked to talk a lot... I’m just testing whether you’re asleep yet."
Here's Pelosi's: "He was a man of few words — and he wanted everyone else to be a person of few words."
They kept it light. There was an opportunity to go much lighter on the man-of-few-words theme — man of even fewer words now, ha ha — or to go much more deeply....
But I won't end with the end of Hamlet. I will lighten up and give Chuck Schumer the last word, because who doesn't love kissing and because I have a "saliva" tag that I get a kick out of using:
It was election night 2006, when Democrat Claire McCaskill won her race in Missouri, a victory that gave control of the Senate to Democrats, and Reid rushed over and kissed McCaskill through the television screen.
“His lips remained attached to the TV screen for a full 10 seconds,” Schumer said. “I had to get up and wipe the copious spittle off the TV screen.”
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80 comments:
Gross.
I wonder where Chuckys spittle went?
Sheesh, it was a eulogy! What did you expect him to say: "this guy was a real shitheel"?
It's been said that actions taken by Reid to limit the filibuster for Supreme Court justices led -- perhaps indirectly -- to the the 3 appointed by Trump. Reid set a precedent that the Republicans gladly followed.
“He did much for both sides” is the best I can muster…
The unintended consequences of his actions.
"Few people have done more for this state and this country than this driven, brilliant, sometimes irascible, deeply good man
Barry said that Harry did a Lot... He in no way implies that Any of it was good
(just that Harry was good (at bringing money into democrat coffers?))
Reid's audience was deeply stupid.
Harry Reid was deeply good at winning elections and at being a Democrat politician delivering for his party.
When you're delivering a eulogy about a guy who was beaten up by the Mafia - or his own gym equipment, your choice - you may need to reach deep into the realm of the imaginary to come up with anything to say.
Reid was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church was a friend of Read and, if you didn't see it, spoke briefly at the service. You may have formed an opinion of Reid based on your politics, but this is what his friend and senior church leader said - an inside look at Reid, from within his church.
How much to our politics shape what we believe about the character of people we've never actually met and may not know very well? Too much.
"deeply rooted" works, the other deeplies, not so much.
From the LDS' leader's remarks: [commenting on how they both lost eyesight in one eye at about the same time.] 'We used to remind ourselves that we could walk down the street arm in arm. He could help me see things on the left, and I could help him see things on the right.'
I've been pondering the deep meaning of that comment.
"Reid was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church was a friend of Read(sic) and, if you didn't see it, spoke briefly at the service"
You've apparently never been to a Mafia funeral.
Disgusting.
So Chuck was kissing him back?
Let him be deeply buried.
Romney refusing to rail at Reid for lying about his taxes showed me that Romney was useless.
We know Harry will be voting Dem for decades. He’s deeply Dem and deeply dead.
If you had to play a game (like Family Feud) with random American citizens and you asked them to fill in the blank to this sentence:
Harry Reid was deeply _____(fill in the blank).
No one outside of the Democratic Party or Mr. Reid's corrupt family would have come up with the word 'good'. No one. Not one out of 350,000 or so people.
I'd say the #1 answer might have been 'corrupt'. Pugnacious. Flawed. Antagonistic. But good? Even by Barack's standards, that's a mighty stretch.
"Sheesh, it was a eulogy! What did you expect him to say: "this guy was a real shitheel"?"
I would avoid praise that provokes people to think too much about a compliment that makes a puzzling claim. So, if the honoree was basically good, you could say "deeply good," but if people would wonder about the dead one's goodness, you should skip the "deeply."
Every time I watch Godfather II and Pat Geary is on the screen, I think of Harry Reid.
Back off from Reid and test the usage of deeply more generally. Assume someone who cares about you is working on their remarks to be made at a memorial service for you, and this person must at some point use the word "deeply" — as in "X was deeply [adjective]." What would fit? If you were at all kind, she might do well to say you were "deeply kind." She might say you were deeply in love with her. But if you are rather sadistic and a well-known jerk, maybe put the "deeply" on something like "witty" or "individualistic."
I asked Meade the question I ask at 8:06, but that's all I'm going to say about that.
Blogger Quayle said...
From the LDS' leader's remarks: [commenting on how they both lost eyesight in one eye at about the same time.] 'We used to remind ourselves that we could walk down the street arm in arm. He could help me see things on the left, and I could help him see things on the right.'
I've been pondering the deep meaning of that comment.
I as well.
"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime." I don't see Democrats as horrible people - I see them as having a different opinion than I do on this choice.
As a member of the church, I often have to remind myself that God alone judges - and He hasn't asked my opinion.
I would have avoided using the word deeply, however.
Was that as deeply good for you as it was for me?
Clever Ann. Instead of a post that simply says: "Harry Reid just died and Obama gave his eulogy. Use this post to say nasty things about them both. Please stay on topic.," you pretend to make the post about word meaning.
Whether you call him good or very good or deeply good or great, the term fits. Among other things, he was one of the first to demand Comey investigate the deeply troubling ties between the 2016 Trump campaign, and in particular campaign chair Paul Manafort, and the Kremlin.
Let's not forget Manafort was convicted by two juries of multiple charges, including obstruction and witness tampering, arising from his consulting work with high-level Russian operatives. And then there was the 1000-page report of the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee concluding that Manafort's willingness to share confidential information with Russian operatives "represented a grave counterintelligence threat."
As Melania says: Be deeply best.
Deeply endearing if he weren’t such a rancid son of a bitch.
Should’ve been a hole out in the desert for that prick.
I don't know if Harry Reid did any good for anyone.
He certainly did well for himself
John LGBTQBNY Henry
@jim "Whether you call him good or very good or deeply good or great, the term fits. Among other things, he was one of the first to demand Comey investigate..." Ah - that's what makes him good. A political partisan hack, who would have done just the opposite if it were about a Democrat. Who did do just the opposite.
You want me to call someone "good"? Show me a time when they worked against their own interests because it was the right thing to do. You may have a hard time finding anyone "good" in Washington DC.
I am deeply grateful for this take down of the overuse of the term "deeply." I've noticed how often it shows up in the hypocritical language of the Woke -- as in "I am deeply sorry for using a word that so deeply offended, stressed and harmed as it did," etc. It's a way of trying so hard to make a big deal about nothing much and call attention to one's sincere contrition, but it almost never gets you out of the deep trouble you will have allowed others to cause you to begin with.
Bob R said...
Every time I watch Godfather II and Pat Geary is on the screen, I think of Harry Reid.
I think of Patsy (as his friends called him) McCarren.
Now there was a really corrupt shitheel. As corrupt as Harry was, he was a pale shadow of McCarren.
McCarren also gave us the odious and un-American McCarren Act. Patsy is gone but the act is still with us.
McCarren was so bad that they took his name off the Las Vegas Airport last month. It's now
"Harry Reid international Airport"
Gag me with a spoon.
How many people knew about the airport naming? Certainly didn't seem to ge a lot of play.
John LGBTQBNY Henry
Meade said...
Was that as deeply good for you as it was for me
No. Not deep enough
Bad use of intensifier: Deeply good.
Good use of intensifier: He's not only merely dead. He's really most sincerely dead.
Harry Reid was deeply good enough for government work.
In time Bill Clinton will be described as "deeply respectful of women".
The nuns who drilled me in the use of the language to express a thought that the use of adverbs is merely a means to hide weak reasoning and unfounded conclusions.
Lifegag, read the article on proxy servers. This was not written by a human being, or a very clever AI... .
Harry Reid is why we have Trump. Pushing through Obamacare, his lies about Romney, his decision to kill the filibuster... all contributed to a sense among conservatives that the GOP establishment was unable to effectively fight back, and raised the stakes for presidential elections.
When they said (they said) repent (repent), repent (repent)
Reid wondered what they meant
When they said (they said) repent (repent), repent (repent)
Reid wondered what they meant
When they said (they said) repent (repent), repent (repent)
Reid wondered what they meant
I won't bother with Reid, who I despise, other than to say the over-the-top veneration is nauseating. I felt the same way about McCain's funeral.
But on a lighter note...
The greatest performance of this Hamlet excerpt ("the rest is silence") is from Derek Jacobi, in Frasier:
https://youtu.be/43ilXxZz1RU
Harry Reid spoke at my Law School graduation. He was an alum. Apparently the administration didn't do its due diligence because he was asked to speak without anyone realizing that we was holding a 30 year grudge against his alma mater because a dean said something mean to him once. He used the podium at my graduation to air his ancient dirty laundry in public and proclaim that he decided to be the "bigger man" in the situation.
The following speaker had to first defend the honor of the former dean that Harry Reid besmirched! It was a memorable commencement address, I'll give him that.
R.I.P. Harry Red.
After help from Mitchell and Daschle, Harry Reid is the one who finally broke the Senate. His legacy is the hyper-partisanship where every vote is now party-line, rather than substantial numbers of cross-overs, where the only vote that counts (for Dems) is the Democrat leader's and all other Dem senators are expected to fall in line like puppets.
Today's Senate is one where practically every senator is no better than a potted plant, with zero individual accomplishments and exist only to do what the leadership tells them. Thanks Harry Reid.
We also have Harry Reid to thank for the fact that The People now cannot significantly come to the Capitol to "watch democracy in action." He was the force behind the "visitor's center" that further separated people from members of Congress, largely because Reid thought that people smelled (he literally said that).
"deeply good man from Searchlight, Nevada"
Sure, Barry lies about the vilest person in public life of the past half century, a completely amoral Dem whose power made him rich until he was hit by exercise equipment, but let's play language games.
On second thought, is the lie a lie? Or Frankfurt-style BS? A Kinsley gaffe? Or was it, in fact, a deeply true truth, an expression of deep prog faith? Yes: for them, Reid represents what is "deeply good."
It is also telling, isn't it, that progs who claim to revile the role of money in politics would praise this man.
I believe it was Ava Gardner who once said that "Deep down, I'm pretty superficial."
Deeper than his thin white skin…
What was really good about Harry Reid is how much he screwed America like the weasel he was.
Bender said...
"...practically every senator is no better than a potted plant, with zero individual accomplishments"
Kamala Harris quit the perfect job.
“"deeply rooted" works, the other deeplies, not so much.”
Yes, Harry Reid deeply rooted the United States, while making himself and his family rich. There are others who used the Senate so.
I have many Mormon friends, but if Harry Reid is noted as good by Mormon standards, I don’t care much for the church. Religion is not about false witness for personal gain.
I enjoyed Jacobi.
I know the actor, but not by name.
Thank u, Andrew.
“"deeply rooted" works, the other deeplies, not so much.”
Yes, Harry Reid deeply rooted the United States, while making himself and his family rich. There are others who used the Senate so.
I have many Mormon friends, but if Harry Reid is noted as good by Mormon standards, I don’t care much for the church. Religion is not about false witness for personal gain.
He single handedly changed the make up of the supreme court for a generation....does that count as deeply good?
Creep of the highest order.
you mispelled plundered, senator cleanface was a nasty piece of work, worse than senator geary who was puzos interpretation of mccarran,
Reid was a tremendously effective majority leader for the 8 years he held control. Pushed through the ACA, TARP 1 and 2, Dodd-Frank. McConnell has been majority leader for just as long with only a single piece of legislation to point to (2017 tax cuts).
One of the stories I enjoyed from his many obituaries was how he engineered moving up the Nevada Democratic Presidential primary. He was able to successfully insinuate to both Hillary and Obama that he supported their candidacies, which induced them to support moving the Nevada primary up in the schedule. This in turn skyrocketed interest in turnout, which caused overall Democratic voter turnout to thrive as never before in Nevada. Reid's political operation never once lost the swing state of Nevada for the Democrats after that.
“ I have many Mormon friends, but if Harry Reid is noted as good by Mormon standards, I don’t care much for the church. Religion is not about false witness for personal gain.”
Sorry that we have disappointed you. Paul taught that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. From what you have said, I guess a bunch of us have also fallen short of your glory too, Josephbleau.
Deeply best- was there ever a 1st lady as unfairly treated as Melania? Hell, even spellcheck has something against her name!
It's the Biden thing. Be (or portray yourself as) a "little guy" and be a Democrat and much is forgiven. You can be as much of a crook or an asshole as you like and the media won't notice. People will think you're too small scale to be much of a threat. They may feel sorry for you a little, and with some people that has a strange way of sliding into admiration. It helps if you can throw the name of some small town or a city that's down on its luck, in there, especially if you can give it figurative significance. You can blame Harry Truman for a lot of it. Also there's the tradition of the Rascal King, the Robin Hood politician who's a crook but who people believe only steals from the rich.
If Manafort was sleazy, that was to be expected. Most campaign consultants have some sleaze in their background -- especially if they go international. Was a two year investigation (which stretched even longer in the media) needed to find out that Manafort wasn't squeaky clean? Did pushing for something that was necessary for Reid's party but unnecessary and unhelpful for the country make Harry a good man? Would he ever have done the same if Democrat corruption was the issue?
The aged Mormon leader seemed to go on forever. Two minutes felt like two hours, so I tuned out early. What he was saying seemed to be typical of what you could get someone in the clergy to say about even the most hated Republican. It also wouldn't be the first time a religious leader had praised a secular leader with whom he had a mutually beneficial relationship.
Obama? It's "Battle for the Soul of America" time now, and if you don't overpraise people on your own side the rest of the team thinks you're wavering and not to be trusted yourself. Moreover, Biden's whole campaign was based on the "good man" theme, and while it's not holding up well, Obama's going to do what he can to keep it going.
Girth, Meade. Girth!
“His lips remained attached to the TV screen for a full 10 seconds,” Schumer said. “I had to get up and wipe the copious spittle off the TV screen.”
Chuck, at least, knows how stick the dagger in while he's praising. He knows when to be in battle mode, but since he's in battle mode most of the time, he can let what's left of his hair down now and not worth about appearances.
Sorry that we have disappointed you.
@Quayle, have you killed yourself yet? Don’t hide behind Paul; expiate your guilt at a level appropriate for the evil incarnate that was Harry Reid.
farmgirl said...
Deeply best- was there ever a 1st lady as unfairly treated as Melania? Hell, even spellcheck has something against her name!
************************
No one has treated her worse than her husband.
Harry Reid, as deeply good as Grima Wormtongue.
"Sorry that we have disappointed you. Paul taught that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. From what you have said, I guess a bunch of us have also fallen short of your glory too, Josephbleau. "
Not short of my glory at all. I painted with a broad brush but the one thing I have found is that my LDS friends are never shy about pointing out when someone has done wrong, in fact it is their duty. So that made me wonder why Harry was not treated in whole in the reckoning of his life. I am suitably humbled.
If you accept that there's a dichotomy between "deeply good" and "highly good", maybe Harry Reid was deeply good.
I have this very foggy, iffy memory that Harry Reid was never impressive but was picked as party leader because he was anti-abortion. It does say that in Wikipedia entry. How far the Dem party has gone.
It was Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi that ended the budget process in Congress. The last budget passed through regular order was 2007.
He will soon be deeply buried. Aside from that, I'm deeply grateful for him giving us a much more conservative Supreme Court. That's his legacy.
He will soon be deeply buried. Aside from that, I'm deeply grateful for him giving us a much more conservative Supreme Court. That's his legacy.
Among other things, he was one of the first to demand Comey investigate the deeply troubling ties between the 2016 Trump campaign, and in particular campaign chair Paul Manafort, and the Kremlin.
Head shoved deeply up the ass.
Leave it to Obama to offer an anodyne comment carefully sculpted for effect, laden with false feeling, always pretty and always banal, patently contrived and false, a self-serving encomium that says only "look at me."
Four pints of lager consumed fairly quickly.
Harry Reid's grave.
No restroom in sight.
Some assembly required.
To Red Diaper Barry, "deeply good" translates as "deeply statist." You gotta know the code.
A/Ui:
Here, 2- we disagree.
How different was Harry Reid's memorial service from Bob Dole's that happened less than a month ago? Both were Senate leaders yet the difference is deeply (to use your favourite word of the day) apparent. Bob Dole was an unsuccessful Republican nominee for President yet President Biden spoke movingly at his funeral. Yeah I know he lost! No notable Republican spoke or was even invited to Harry Reid's memorial. I am doubtful any would have attended if invited. I have a feeling that many of the Dems wished they hadn't been invited. The fact is that Harry Reid was deeply rude (what person hangs up the phone on everyone?), deeply a bully, deeply unpleasant, deeply greedy, deeply partisan, and deeply an asshole. All of the speakers at his memorial knew that fact but pretended to ignore it. He was deeply not a nice man.
The question I have is how could the Democrats allow him to assume a position of such power and responsibility? He was such a toxic and unpleasant man. The one saving grace is that he will probably go down in history as the worst leader of the Senate ever. He allowed Mitch to steal a SC appointment from the Dems and subsequently lost the Senate. The fact is he was also deeply stupid. I am thankful for that.
I deeply like Harry Reid as well. He made changes to approval of Judicial nominees that has greatly benefitted Republicans. His short-sightedness seems to be lost on Democrats, including Obama and Schumer, but not on The Turtle.
I'll note that Harry Reid never gave a devotional at BYU, the Church's flagship university. When he appeared, it was in a forum setting, which usually is reserved for speakers not of our faith. I've always wondered about that. I have no issue with one of our church leaders saying nice things at Reid's funeral. Seems like the right thing to do.
I think "deeply" is code for "You can't question what I'm about to say. It may be a claim about ethical matters, or aesthetic matters, or psychological ones, or matters in some other domain; whatever it is, it is beyond criticism and, indeed, not merely immune to your skepticism, it freezes and crushes your skepticism, it demands utter intellectual capitulation. We are in the realm of Protected Sentiment and I am playing trumps."
Something like that.
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