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from: Franklin Foer

Mind Their Manners

Posted Monday, Dec. 6, 1999, at 5:11 PM ET

Margo,

Forbes could have used the toothpaste several decades ago. Though I am confident a good plastic surgeon could help now. (Insert jokes about personality surgeons here.)

Looks ... I'm more interested in manners. And it's here that you, dear Prudie, could provide some real insight into the campaign. Which of the candidates has the best manners? And does it matter? We are, after all, obsessed with authenticity this year--the real person. At least, that's what the pundits and the newsmagazines blare. But it's the fake stuff that interests me more, and here I am talking about such things as etiquette and decency. I want a president who is true to other people more than he is true to himself. I'll let you weigh in first on this one, because of your expertise on the subject.

As far as Bush malapropisms go--or as Jacob Weisberg calls them, "Bushisms"--I have a dandy from an interview that I had with the good governor of the second largest state (which if it were a nation, would be the 11th largest economy in the world). I asked him about the efforts of Southern Baptists to convert Jews, and he responded: "I mean, that's the Southern Baptists. But I don't think that this is a government function." And on that note--where my questions to presidential contenders really do make me look like an obsessive on the subject of Yidden--I leave it to you. I'll try to file my next entry from the debate.

Catching rays for you,
Frank

the breakfast table
entries
12345678910111213141516
from: Franklin Foer

Mind Their Manners

Posted Monday, Dec. 6, 1999, at 5:11 PM ET
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Margo Howard is "Dear Prudence," Slate's advice columnist. Franklin Foer, a former Slate staff writer, writes about politics for U.S. News & World Report.
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