Slate's "Has Been" column today has a great discussion of Harriet Miers's penchant for grammar sticklerism. Chief Justice John Bob is also a lover of good grammar, spelling, and punctuation.Don't get me wrong, this makes neither one qualified and/or not scary. It's small comfort for me regarding John Bob, because he has *some* judicial experience and that combined with knowledge of how to write clearly will help him write opinions that will be less open to wild and possibly damanging interpretation (of course, we don't have any earthly clue what those opinions will be).
As regards Harriet, though, Slate makes an excellent point. If she's so obsessed with spelling, grammar, and punctuation, how has she managed to associate herself with a man whose inability to speak the language routinely makes my ears bleed? Of course, I also want to know how she has managed to apply a C.C. DeVille-style amount of eyeliner (with a Sharpie, it would seem) every day for decades without managing to be laughed out of any professional advancement...
I suppose the real question is: how does she feel about MLA citation?
2 comments:
Shouldn't it be "John Bobs" rather than "John Bob?" His last name is "Roberts," plural.
Well, if you want to nitpick, I suppose.
I prefer the ring of 'John Bob,' which is the name that Claire gave him.
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