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When diplomats want to make a specific point or argument, they tend to speak in very precise language in an attempt to prevent misunderstandings. This is especially true when their statements address issues linked to major world powers or leaders — such as the president of the United States.
When Pope Benedict visited the Holy Land last week, every religious move he made was analyzed for its political significance. On Monday when Prime Minister Netanyahu will meet President Obama in Washington, just the opposite will be true: the political moves will be analyzed for their religious significance.
Amy Sullivan of Time launches a nearly 1,200-word report on President Obama and Notre Dame University with this ludicrous sentence: “At the rate things are going, Pope Benedict XVI may find his next trip to the U.S. dogged by airplanes overhead trailing banners with images of aborted fetuses.” Sullivan qualifies this language in her next sentence, calling it “a bit of hyperbole,” but the rest of her report proceeds in a similar vein, arguing that an article in L’Osservatore Romano “essentially urg[ed] the bishops to chill out” on Obama. She repeatedly confuses diplomatic silence with tacit endorsement of the university’s decision.
Celebrity confessionals are a vertiginous business. Not so much for the authors, who get to beat their breasts, name a few names, absolve themselves and move on, but for us, their market, consumers, fans or critics.
South African President Jacob Zuma knows how to work a political rally, as shown by the video atop this post — in which Zuma sings “Awuleth’ Umshini Wami” (“Bring Me My Machine Gun”). The Weekly Standard sounded a warning about Zuma earlier this month, and retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu has raised concerns about him for years.
It is, of course, one of the most famous lines in the classic final scene of Casablanca: “Round up the usual suspects.” You’ll want to cue the YouTube video at 4:40.
A few things about Pope Benedict’s extended viist to the Holy Land were predictable. One, every word the pontiff said would be parsed for meaning like the Dead Sea Scrolls. Two, every place he went would become highly symbolic. Three, some Palestinians and Israelis would be offended when the Pope either addressed or seemed to be slighting the concerns of the other party. And lastly, there would be little journalistic consensus, at least in the immediate aftermath, about the impact of either his words or his actions on the tinderbox called the Middle East.
