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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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011689
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01168900.078
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1990-09-17
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PRESS, Page 64Read My ClicheAn epidemic of Bushisms
George Bush is hardly known for his rhetorical gifts. But his
speech at last summer's Republican Convention has already left its
mark on the American language -- at least the kind pundits write
and speak. Ever since Bush invited the Congress to "read my lips,"
invoked a "thousand points of light" and promised a "kinder and
gentler nation," journalists have become obsessed with the phrases.
"Read my nose," declared NBC News commentator John Chancellor
last November, decrying the foul atmosphere of the fall campaign.
READ MY LICKS, headlined the Los Angeles Times in a story about the
menu for an Inaugural reception this month. Christian Science
Monitor reviewer John Beaufort could not resist pointing out the
"thousand points of incandescent light" in the lavish Broadway
musical Legs Diamond. Last week USA Today ran a story about the
pre-Inaugural cleanup of Washington. The headline: A THOUSAND
POINTS OF GLEAM.
Most pervasive, however, has been the use of "kinder, gentler."
Since August, journalists have conjured up the images of a kinder,
gentler Congress, Soviet Union, FCC, sitcom and leveraged buyout.
The Washington Post even reported that the IRS was preparing a
"kinder, gentler 1040." New York Times columnist William Safire
feels that the epidemic (to which TIME itself has not been immune)
has taken hold because journalists need such pithy lines to play
on. Says Safire: "It's catnip, and we're all cats."
Of course, the press is not entirely to blame: politicians are
overusing the phrases too. Asked how his meeting with Mikhail
Gorbachev was going during last month's minisummit, President
Reagan replied, "Read our smiles," a line that turned up on the
next day's front pages. New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who faces a
tough re-election fight, recently promised reporters -- you guessed
it -- a "kinder, gentler Ed Koch." But just in case the
President-elect is growing tired of his own cliches, help is on the
way: Peggy Noonan, the writer who penned his New Orleans speech,
is currently honing a new batch for the Inaugural Address. And none
too soon.