Is "screwed up" an inappropriate term for a presid

Sun   Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:33 pm GMT
Do you think it was inappropriate for Barack Obama to use this term, when he did recently?
Caspian   Tue Feb 10, 2009 8:04 pm GMT
Yes, I would class that as inappropriate for a president to say!
Johnny   Tue Feb 10, 2009 8:45 pm GMT
No:

1 : to tighten, fasten, or lock by or as if by a screw
2 a : BUNGLE, BOTCH b : to cause to act or function in a crazy or confused way : CONFOUND, DISTURB
intransitive verb : to botch an activity or undertaking

Don't confuse it with this meaning, which follows as a generalization of the verb "to screw":

5 usually vulgar : to copulate with

If "screw" is inappropriate, then the word "banana" is also inappropriate. Or "wiener", that's even more inappropriate I guess. Does your mom like wieners? Don't get me wrong, I am talking about the food, obviously.
Sun   Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:14 pm GMT
This is not my own opinion. I was watching a video by someone who states that the president should not use such language because of its connotation.
Guest   Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:48 pm GMT
In the context he used it it was fine. Straightforward. Americans LOVE that shit!!! They eat it for BREAKFAST MAN
WRP   Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:22 pm GMT
I don't see why it would be inappropriate. He did, he admitted it, end of story.

What video said it was inappropriate (is it something we can watch) or at least why did it say that it was inappropriate?
JTT   Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:37 pm GMT
Geez, what century is this? There is nothing inappropriate about "screwed up". Why make an issue of it?
eeuuian   Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:52 pm GMT
Seems reasonable to me in semi-formal speech.

It's not clear that you'd want to include the phrase in more formal language (a Constitutional Amendment, for example):



Article XXXIV

"To avoid further screw-ups, the Congress shall have the power to regulate .... ...."
Jasper   Wed Feb 11, 2009 7:04 pm GMT
I remember John McCain replying "I screwed up" when asked about the David Letterman debacle. He gets points for honesty.
Globular   Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:01 pm GMT
Of course not. Obama talks in a way that the younger generation can connect with. I find that refreshing in a politican.
Amabo   Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:51 pm GMT
"This is not my own opinion. I was watching a video by someone who states that the president should not use such language because of its connotation."

By that bizarre line of reasoning, he'd definitely have to stay clear of something like "niggardly".
Uriel   Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:39 am GMT
It's a common phrase. No reason not to use it. Everyone does, and it's not even considered vulgar.
realist   Fri Feb 13, 2009 6:14 am GMT
I think it is an inappropriate term for a president. Not because it is offensive but because it is too honest and is bound to damage his image and make him look incompetent.
Realist   Fri Feb 13, 2009 11:56 am GMT
"damage his image and make him look incompetent"
The opposite is true.
Jasper   Fri Feb 13, 2009 6:53 pm GMT
I've noticed that the people on this thread who think Obama's use of the term "screwed up" inappropriate tend to be foreigners.

You have to understand our problem with Washington. Washington seems to be the world capital of Doublespeak; we hear terms like "incomplete success" applied to political failures, "user fees" applied to "taxes", and so on. So it comes as a real refreshment when a politician comes out with the blunt truth.

I applaud both McCain's and Obama's use of the term "screwed up" as a refreshing breath of honesty. It's about bloody time!