Can we kill the cliches?

Perhaps, it’s just me, but I’ve grown weary of hearing the candidates enter soundbite mode as they turn to their bag of cliches to describe the world, their qualifications and beliefs and attempt to win those voters over who have yet to make their decision.

Readers like me know the phrases and probably have found themselves shaking thier heads in annoyance, in disgust, in boredom.

Hillary Clinton offered two of my least favorite in a speech today:

“We are competing in a new global economy, but our policies to equip American workers for the 21st century are stuck back in the 20th,” she said. “It’s time for a president who is ready on Day One to be the commander in chief of our economy. Sometimes the phone rings at 3 a.m. in the White House and it’s an economic crisis.”

Speeches like this are what drives many of us crazy and make her seem like just another politician. Consider the two tired phrases she uses — phrases she has turned into stock claims throughout this campaign:

Ready on day one. Let’s be honest about this: No one is ready. No one can be ready and it is the height of hubris to make the claim. We elect presidents based on a lot of factors, but we need to be honest and admit that when that phone rings at 3 a.m. or 6 p.m. or whenever it comes the person in the White House will be dealing with something he or she has never dealt with before.

The 3 a.m. phone call. First, as I say above, the call can come at any time. But more importantly, we should be focusing on the policies that come before the call, the ones that help lessen the likelihood of the call, or increase its likelihood. Consider this: No one would question Dick Cheney’s credentials or experience; his philosophy is another matter. It is what dictates how he interacts with the rest of the world, what kind of relationships we have with other nations and what his response would be. Or, forget Cheney and consider John McCain: He has the longest and most detailed resume, but does he have the temperment or the mindset you want in the person who will answer the phone — or make the initial call?

Granted, tying the two tropes to economic matters is interesting, but couldn’t she find some other, more interesting way to say it?

I don’t mean to pick on Clinton — she just offered the latest in a long line of cliched speeches. All of the candidates do it. I just wish they’d stop.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

E-mail me by clicking here.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet