Saturday, October 09, 2004

There Are Just Too Many Precious Moments To Count Them All

My current favorite underplayed Presidential grammar flub from the 2nd Presidential Candidate Debate of 2004, from W's answer to the question about how he plans to fight the Global War On Terroiristes without resorting to military conscription, where he talks about why the all-volunteer Army is important to something he thinks is called "military transformation":

It also means that we can target things easier and move more quickly, which means we need to be lighter and quicker and more facile and highly trained.


He thinks we need to be "more facile" does he? I remember when I saw him use that word live on television. I remarked at the time to my friends, "I don't think he knows what that word really means."

Here's the definition from Dictionary.Com (emphasis added -ed):

fac·ile     P   Pronunciation Key  (fsl)
adj.
Done or achieved with little effort or difficulty; easy. See Synonyms at easy.

Working, acting, or speaking with effortless ease and fluency.

Arrived at without due care, effort, or examination; superficial: proposed a facile solution to a complex problem.

Readily manifested, together with an aura of insincerity and lack of depth: a facile slogan devised by politicians.


Archaic. Pleasingly mild, as in disposition or manner.


And he thinks the military needs to be "more facile"— I love that. That just cracks me up every time I hear it.

No comments: