Lloyd Snook on Terry McAuliffe at yesterday’s Democratic Central Committee meeting:
He seems to have picked up a certain Southern inflection in his voice that I hadn’t noticed before.
Brian Moran, too. I guess Creigh Deeds is rubbing off on them.
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Um, yeah, Waldo. It couldn’t possibly be because Brian’s been living and working in Virginia for well over two decades. Sounds like a back-handed slap at Brian, and below the belt. If you have disagreements with Brian Moran, by all means state them, but one would hope you could do better than a veiled “he’s not one of us” taunt.
It’s not a “back-handed slap”—the fact is that the man’s accent has changed pretty drastically in the past few years. Just three years ago he sounded like a Southie. His accent has slid a pretty good distance down the east coast since then.
I am told that Brian has done some work with a speech coach to try to moderate the Boston accent. Nothing wrong with that — he’d be dumb if he didn’t, and Brian isn’t dumb. I have to say, though, that I hadn’t noticed a change (though I know that others have).
I also (my snide comment notwithstanding) have no moral objection to politicians dropping g’s and sliding into Southern inflections. I noted it with McAuliffe just because it seems to fit with the notion that he is running for Governor, as the newspapers seem to be hinting.
For many people, though, the accent is not quite a conscious choice. I realize that when I am talking to folks who speak with a Southern accent, I speak with a bit more of a Southern accent. When I speak with folks in the North, I tend to leave the “y’all’s” behind. It’s almost like being bilingual.
Waldo – the meeting was on Saturday, the report was from today.
In other news, Terry McAuliffe reportedly went out and bought himself a live donkey, whom he has named “Adlai E. Stevenson.”
Dave wins the thread. :)
Lloyd, yes, I do the same thing—I’m an accent sponge. I have an Irish friend who visits town every few years, and I’ve got a wicked (awkward) brogue by the time he leaves.
Thanks for the correction, Mark!
Yeah, well, when the accent game is over, can we talk about who supported making fellow Virginians second class citizens, instead?
Please have Terry run for governor, please. I would just have to play selected clips of this guy to assure a Republican victory. Moran or Deeds would be solid picks but Terry would be a gift to us.
Of course if you do it just tell me where to send the Thank You card.