# Obama's Perfect Master Linguistic Kung Fu. No... you can't do it, it's a gift **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910 "2009-02-15T03:32:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/1 "2009-02-15T03:32:00Z")
[Interesting article on Obama’s linguistic code switching.](http://www.slate.com/id/2211161/) ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/2 "2009-02-15T03:55:20Z")
That is awesome. I want to read more of both writers’ stuff. ---
**Author:** ![AllWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AllWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllWalker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/3 "2009-02-15T03:56:14Z")
Heh. That’s pretty neat, exactly the sort of skill a politician needs. ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/4 "2009-02-15T04:09:10Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Obama’s Perfect Master Linguistic Kung Fu. No… you can’t do it, it’s a gift Actually, it’s my experience that nearly everyone can do it to an extent. I used to have a job which featured a lot of public speaking and I spoke in front of audiences from lots of different age groups and backgrounds. When I was preparing I _constantly_ found myself using words and expressions typically exclusive to whichever demographic I was to address the next day. They’d just slip in there without my even realising it. I think most people have this facility and exercise it unconsciously in day to day life. If you have a friend who heavily favours a certain word or catchphrase, you’ll probably find yourself using it a lot more around him than around other people. That doesn’t mean you’re _mimicking_ him. It’s just a natural function of your innate ability to build rapport with people. Obama’s a great speaker, but great speakers possess an enormous variety of different communication skills. This is just one, and for my part I think it’s a rather insignificant one. Also, Obama’s facility in this regard is not quite flawless. Anyone else remember his [arugula gaffe](http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/obamas-down-on-the-farm/)? ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/5 "2009-02-15T04:23:18Z")
He is half black, half white, and has lived in Hawaii, Indonesia, California, New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Given his background and intelligence, it really should be no surprise. ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/6 "2009-02-15T04:27:44Z")
> [@Ataraxy](#): > > He is half black, half white, and has lived in Hawaii, Indonesia, California, New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Given his background and intelligence, it really should be no surprise. Also this. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/7 "2009-02-15T07:45:15Z")
> [@George\_Kaplin](#): > > Also, Obama’s facility in this regard is not quite flawless. Anyone else remember his [arugula gaffe](http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/obamas-down-on-the-farm/)? The Clinton talking points are very sticky, I see. It wasn’t a gaffe. Who was he talking to? Iowa farmers. Who GROWS arugula? Iowa farmers. Do you really think he made a huge error and thought he was talking to toney university elites or something? The reference to Whole Foods and arugula wasn’t a gaffe at all. The farmers he was talking to aren’t some sort of bumpkin who’ve never heard of Whole Foods or those fancy salad greens. They GROW those fancy salad greens then SELL them to Whole Foods. The whole “arugula gaffe” thing really busts my buttons. I find it hard to believe that so many people are so divorced from the production of their food that they’d believe crap like that. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/8 "2009-02-15T09:16:11Z")
This puzzles me: Quoting Obama: “We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states.” From the article: > [@](#): > > When Obama says awesome God, Smith writes that she visualizes a Georgia church. Georgia is a a red state. (I guess liberal states worship God too, huh?) It is an interesting piece, but not surprising to me. Isn’t it fun to have an especially literate President? ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/9 "2009-02-15T11:19:40Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > The Clinton talking points are very sticky, I see. It wasn’t a gaffe. > > Who was he talking to? Iowa farmers. > > Who GROWS arugula? Iowa farmers. The facts of the incident are simple. _Some_ Iowa farmers grow arugula. The clear majority do not. The clear majority grow _corn_. Obama was speaking in Adel county, whose farmers generally adhere to this principle. At the time, there was not a single Whole Foods anywhere in Iowa. Now, take a deep breath, pick up your buttons, and _think_ for a minute about why you imagine it is that I brought up _that_ particular example in _this_ particular thread? Zadie Smith, in the dreadfully pretentious essay referred to in the OP’s linked article, argues that Obama has a flawless ear for regional dialect and is uncannily perceptive to the sensibilities of his audience and the tone of the occasion. Ask yourself: If _you_ were possessed of such astounding faculties, would you have spoken of corn prices at Hy-Vee, both of which are abundant in Iowa? Or, in a county which has neither, would you have spoken of arugula prices at Whole Foods? I don’t think Obama made a _huge_ error, but he certainly didn’t best showcase his ability to connect with diverse audiences. There are other examples which I shall refrain from repeating for fear of exciting you further. My point (and, yes, I did have one) was simply that Obama’s ability to speak to his audiences isn’t as impeccable as Zadie Smith is making it out to be, which rather undercuts her argument even if you do accept her premises. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/10 "2009-02-15T12:48:34Z")
Good piece. Obama, is, indeed, the anti-Nixon. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/11 "2009-02-15T13:09:34Z")
> [@George\_Kaplin](#): > > I don’t think Obama made a _huge_ error, but he certainly didn’t best showcase his ability to connect with diverse audiences. There are other examples which I shall refrain from repeating for fear of exciting you further. My point (and, yes, I did have one) was simply that Obama’s ability to speak to his audiences isn’t as impeccable as Zadie Smith is making it out to be, which rather undercuts her argument even if you do accept her premises. I’m sorry. He doesn’t speak \*to \*his audiences. He simply \*speaks \*them. That is, when he’s not \*voicing \*them. It’s right there in the article. You can look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-perfect-master-linguistic-kung-fu-no-you-cant-do-it-its-a-gift/485910/12 "2009-02-15T23:45:42Z")
Shouldn’t that be “Tongue Fu”? Well, I guess that sounds like something else. Maybe we should just call him a cunning linguist. No, that won’t wash either.