Friday, July 31, 2009



Even very clever politicians can fall foul of speech rules

Yes. I know about Joe Biden but who ever said he was clever? This is about the head of the British Conservative party, a graduate of Eton and Oxford:
"It was meant to be the ideal low-risk, softball interview before he headed off to France for his holidays. But yesterday David Cameron’s last media appearance before the summer break ended in awkward apologies after he used an inappropriate word during a breakfast radio programme favoured by his wife, Samantha.

The Tory leader used the word “twat” as he explained to Christian O’Connell, a presenter on Absolute Radio, why he did not use the Twitter social networking service. “The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it — too many twits might make a twat,” he said. In the studio his remark was greeted with laughter. Mr O’Connell said: “That’s fantastic.”

However, according to the Collins English Dictionary, the word can refer to female genitals, a girl or woman “considered sexually”, or a foolish or despicable person. Shortly afterwards Mr Cameron risked making the situation worse by saying people were “pissed off” with politicians — although he added hastily: “Sorry, I can’t say that in the morning.” ...

According to Mr O’Connell, the Conservative leader was ticked off by Gabby Bertin, his press secretary, as he left the studio. The presenter described the exchange between Mr Cameron and Ms Bertin in a podcast released shortly after the broadcast. “She leapt out of her skin after the first part of the interview,” the presenter said. “He said [to her] ‘That seemed to go OK’. She said, ‘Yeah, apart from the language’.

“He said ‘Oh, yeah, pissed, sorry about that, I’m really sorry’ . . . She said ‘No, it was the twat’. “He said, ‘That’s not a swearword’. I think he must be posh, where a lot of them don’t think twat is a swearword. His press secretary went, ‘It is’.”

The presenter hailed Cameron as “a good bloke” who had been as relaxed as if he were “down the boozer”. Mr O’Connell joked that the t-word was not viewed too seriously by radio regulators: “In terms of the fines we can get, it is not one of the big ones.”

Source

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

what? he's not getting sacked over it?

Stan B said...

Personally, I think it's great..."Too many twits can make a twat..."

Classic! But then, I've never been overly concerned with the sexual nature of the word - I've always thought of a "twat" as a rude, crude, or annoying person.

And in case your thinking "Is he just seeing how many times he can use 'twat' in a post about twats?"

Of course I am, you twat!

Anonymous said...

I'm sure if his press secretary, after a few glasses of wine, was in bed with her honey (be it a he/she/or it) and heard that word uttered, she wouldn't find it offensive at all.

Anonymous said...

1:51AM - get off your anti-brit soapbox - you never say the same when equivalent things happen in your country!

Anonymous said...

David Cameron, the leader of the Tory/Conservative Party and possible future Prime Minister, is actually a descendant of King William IV (Queen Victoria's uncle and predecessor).

Anonymous said...

2:34 a.m.
To be sure, my country isn't much better. They both seem to be going down the toiletbowl, or whatever you folks call a toilet bowl.

Your countrymen are as weak and pathetic as mine are, for allowing these elected crooks to control and twist our lives via political correctness. PC'ism doesn't work without the active acceptance of a weak-minded people.

Anonymous said...

okay 2:41AM. I agree that PCism is a serious problem in the US and UK, altho' I don't live in either.

Anonymous said...

Then mind your own business!

Anonymous said...

I thought TWAT was The War Against Terror.........

Anonymous said...

LOL!

Toejam said...

OH MY, Mr David Cameron,

Didn't you realise that uddering the word TWAT TAINT politically correct.

For the naive, faint of heart readers the "taint" is the patch that divides the "twat" from the "tooter".

Anonymous said...

Here's another perfect example of Britain.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536081,00.html

Anonymous said...

Why is that a "perfect example of Britain" rather than other countries, who may not even detect the infiltrators so well.

Anonymous said...

Why do so many here belittle Britain when it's the USA's most faithful ally supporting it even against other EU opinion and sending substantial numbers of troops to fight along side the US when other NATO countries send so few or only non-combatant support.