A few years ago I got into an online argument with a southern blogger (conservative) because I said Bush’s accent made him sound even dumber than I think he is. But the interesting thing is, even with my natural prejudice as more-or-less a northerner (technically Maryland is south of the Mason-Dixon but we don’t act it) it’s not just that I automatically think southern accent = dumb, most of the time. For instance Al Gore, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter all have southern accents but don’t sound like the local yokel. Even on the Republican side Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson, while they may say really stupid things, don’t sound like they’re idiots.
Hell, one of my favorite tv shows of all time is all southerners and they come across like Ivy leaguers compared to Bushie.
I think it’s because Bush’s southern accent is FAKE. Remember, the boy grew up in Connecticut.
A real southern accent is one thing; a fake one is quite another.
chicken george bush’s accent is as real as his “ranch”. that’s why he sounds stupid.
I think it’s because Bush’s southern accent is FAKE. Remember, the boy grew up in Connecticut.
I chuckle when people write things with such triumphalism when in fact it is steeped in ignorance. President Bush was two years old when his family moved from Connecticut to Texas.
If you live long enough in a certain geographic area, you’re going to pick up the accent. A cousin of mine was born and raised in Queens and Maryland. When he was 20, he met his future wife at Auburn and decided to live in Alabama after they were married. Now he sounds like a shit kicker that was born and raised there.
It’s not the accent, it’s the content. The man cannot string together complete, coherent sentences without a teleprompter, which is how words like “decider” and “commander guy” make their way into common coinage.
Funny how none of that applied to Hillary when everyone was analysing the minutest semitone variation in her voice patterns a couple of months ago.
George does kind of accentuate his accent above and beyond, to underline that dumb aw-shucks just-an-ordinary-hometown-boy thing that represents whatever appeal he may ever have had to an electorate.
It is a natural accent, though, or at least part of one, so there’s nothing in particular wrong with that I guess.
Oh please. I doubt very seriously GWB sounded like a ranch hand when he attended Yale and Harvard Business Schools. Nor did he speak like a yokel when he was Governor of Texas. Go back and listen to his early speeches… This man puts this accent on in order to attract the lowest common denominator — right wing, back woods conservatives. It has been his MO since he took the national stage. I mean listen to his parents… they sound like snobby Yankees! So does Jeb!
This is precisely correct, Oliver. It’s not just the accent. It’s a combination of Bush’s slurring and his attempts at using colloquialisms very awkwardsly (I think he once referred to “big city reporters” or some such) and then there was “Fool me… fuh… fool me once… fuhmuh… can’t get fooled again!”
It’s not his accent, precisely. It’s the fact that he keeps trying to sound like a “good ol’ boy,” and fails. Part of it involves exaggerating the accent, but the other part is simply saying stupid things.
I don’t know whether to condemn you for your prejudices against regional accents or to praise you for your acknowledgment that you have them. The first step to overcoming any problem is a recognition of that problem.
Honestly, as much as I read you railing against prejudices against African Americans, I expected that you would try to get over the tired association of southern accent = idiot.
I note that our last two Democratic Presidents were from the South and spoke with thick accents. When you voted for Clinton, what was it about him that got you over your preconceived notions?
FYI, for those of you who haven’t seen me post here before (I usually lurk), I’m a southerner (NC) and centrist Dem.
When you voted for Clinton, what was it about him that got you over your preconceived notions?
I’m gonna go with the content of his character for $500, Alex.
My ex-wife used to say that southern accents made her mad because she perceived them as ignorant, regardless of what was actually said. when I visited New Orleans for a week, I wasn’t out of the airport before I was talkin’ like a ‘Yat (Hey, where yat?).
Again, like you said, it isn’t how it’s said necessarily, but what you’re trying to say. bush lays it on thick in front of the press and in a maddeningly condescending way. I have a hard time believing he actually talks that way in the residence.
Locus said:
“I expected that you would try to get over the tired association of southern accent = idiot.”
But he apparently missed when Oliver wrote:
“For instance Al Gore, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter all have southern accents but don’t sound like the local yokel.”
Just sayin’
When i hear :
Yoos Guys
In the yad wid the cah.
And other stellar examples of northern accents I cringe. Because they sound ignorant.
Can we have nother discussion about something that matters.
Yokel isn’t an accent, nor is it an ethnic group. Yokel is a culture, and more specifically, a lack of education.
“It’s the fact that he keeps trying to sound like a “good ol’ boy,” and fails.” – Tyro
That’s it. The Good Ol’ Boy accent.