The President’s Mixed Military Metaphors

Claude Berube /

The Merriam-Webster dictionary notes that the word “campaign” dates back to the mid-17th century and has two meanings. The first is “a connected series of military operations forming a distinct phase of a war;” the second is “a connecting series of operations designed to bring about a particular result.” In the case of the latter, it has defined the political realm. Politics abounds with military metaphors: “standard-bearers” who speak in “bullets” and plan their operations in “war rooms,” while “veteran strategists” identify “battleground states” and rely on “partisans.”

Earlier this year while trying to energize conservatives, former Governor Sarah Palin was criticized for suggesting “Don’t Retreat, Instead – RELOAD!” Yet, presidential candidate Obama faced no such criticism from the left when, in a 2008 campaign speech, he invoked Sean Connery’s Officer Malone of The Untouchables regarding “the Chicago Way”: “if they bring a knife, we bring a gun.” (more…)