Er... yes. Actually you did.
Scripted sound bites and carefully-crafted messages can be tricksy things.
In the mouth of an accomplished spokesperson, the well-polished phrase can be a potent, resonant thing.
Used ineptly, it's all too easy for those sparkling sound bites to backfire.
The Toronto Star has a brief report this morning on yesterday's visit of U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins to Quebec.
Speaking to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Wilkins was pressed to respond to a recent EKOS poll, which suggested President Bush represents almost as great a threat to world peace as Osama Bin Laden, Iran and North Korea.
Reaching into his handy bag of officially-sanctioned bon mots, Wilkins commented:
"To be open and candid with you, I must say that I find that personally offensive... I think it's important for all of us to remember that our president and our country did not start the war on terror," (my emphasis).
Um... shurely shome mishtake.
In the mouth of an accomplished spokesperson, the well-polished phrase can be a potent, resonant thing.
Used ineptly, it's all too easy for those sparkling sound bites to backfire.
The Toronto Star has a brief report this morning on yesterday's visit of U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins to Quebec.
Speaking to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Wilkins was pressed to respond to a recent EKOS poll, which suggested President Bush represents almost as great a threat to world peace as Osama Bin Laden, Iran and North Korea.
Reaching into his handy bag of officially-sanctioned bon mots, Wilkins commented:
"To be open and candid with you, I must say that I find that personally offensive... I think it's important for all of us to remember that our president and our country did not start the war on terror," (my emphasis).
Um... shurely shome mishtake.
