Clearly . . .

Fun piece by Ben Feller of the Associate Press (link here) analyzing the public speech patterns of Barack Obama.  Feller found that Obama falls back on the phrase "let me be clear:" time and time again.

This reminded me of a college professor of mine who enjoyed using the word "clearly" in lectures far too often.  The word itself became a running joke.

Clearly, using the word "clearly" or the phrase "let me be clear" adds nothing to the statement that follows.  That statement is either clear or it is not.  And the self-proclaimed announcement of clarity is, of course, nothing but a naked attempt to add some gravitas to one's speech.  Nobody in the audience wants to doubt what is proclaimed to be clear.

It surprises me that the AP has run a story poking some fun at Obama.  Either Ben Feller is trying to make the president look more human, or he's joined the crowd jumping off the Obama bandwagon.

Come on off everybody, the weather is fine down here where our feet are planted on the ground.