HOME / the breakfast table: An e-mail conversation about the news of the day.

Arianna Huffington and Harry Shearer

the breakfast table:
entries

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

Re: Plain Language

By Harry Shearer
Posted Thursday, June 4, 1998, at 11:06 AM ET

I guess you didn't get the message from the California election, Arianna: boring old pols are back in style. So, yes, we should trust a guy raised in Washington to reinvent government, since our penchant for throwing self-proclaimed outsiders into the hornets' nest results in nothing but stung outsiders (ask Mssrs. Carter and Clinton; Reagan was just blessed with a thicker skin). But Al Gore lecturing anybody about effective communication is a hoot and a half. This is a guy whose entire public career has been prescribed as an insomnia cure. Not that I require my public servants to be entertainers. Hell, given what comes out of Hollywood these days, it's asking a lot even for our entertainers to be entertainers. Yet, Mr. Vice President, active voice has a meaning other than verb selection; it also suggests a way of speaking that does not mimic the gals at 411.

RSS

Finally, tell the truth, Arianna, did you think Utah had a chance to win with Karl Malone having a sub-par game?