Go Ahead. Make Her Day.

Quote:  “I see your point, Jim.”  White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino.

Figure of Speech:  concessio (con-CESS-io), the figure of agreeability.

We’re seeing a bold new strategy in the White House press room: being agreeable.  The No. 2 White House flack  was caught defending contradictory statements made by Attorney General Alberto “Chainsaw” Gonzales.  In the usual modus operandi, she should berate the questioner or repeat the same stupid point ad nauseum.  Instead, Perino laughed and admitted the error — sort of.

Welcome to the art of concession, a figure of thought that’s the rhetorical equivalent of sacrificing a pawn.  The contradiction Perino conceded was so technical that none of the major media picked it up.  Instead, the Washington Post reported how nice Dana Perino is.  (Being almost as cute as her boss doesn’t hurt.)  Her concession made her seem more likeable and trustworthy, and we’re a bit more likely to accept her spin in the future.

Agreeability.  It’s the anti-testosterone.

Snappy Answer:  “Good thing. It’s staring you in the face.”

For more about concession, turn to page 42 of Figaro’s book.

We Trespassed (Not!)

Quote:  “We were seized, apparently at this point, here, from their maps, from the GPS they’ve shown us, which is inside Iranian territorial waters.” British Navy Captain Chris Air, on Iranian TV.

Figure of Speech: hysterologia (hys-ter-o-LO-gia), the insertion.  From the Greek, meaning “following words.”

The Iranians paraded three captured Brits in front of the cameras.  Two apologized for invading Iran’s territorial waters; but the other managed to deny the charge even while appearing to admit it.

The fortuitously named Captain Air cleverly inserted “apparently” between “we were seized” and “at this point.” That’s a nice hysterologia, a kind of parenthesis that sticks a word or phrase between a preposition and its object.  Air used it as a pin to pop his own rhetorical balloon.  The result is a perfect irony—saying one thing while meaning the opposite.

In case any of the blokes back home didn’t get the point, Air added two more parentheses, “from their maps”  and “from the GPS they’ve shown us,” to deflate the Iranians’ claims.

An effective, and courageous, feat of parenthetical figuring.

Snappy Answer:  “And Iranian maps never lie.”

But God Still Won’t I.M.

Quote:  “I get many emails of course and yes I am busy teaching people how to be the best human beings they can be.”  God.

Figure of Speech: oraculum (or-A-cu-lum), the God’s words figure.

Our subscribers are curious souls.  One of them went to the length of tracking down God to fact-check  Figaro’s book.

Neil Davidson looked into the chapter called “The Jumbotron Blunder,” which advised using the right medium for a message.  People don’t pray by email, we said, because praying is emotional while email is a logical medium.

“I thought it was a good point,” Neil writes, “but thought I’d double check.  It turns out that God has a website (many, I think, but He claims this is His official one), and that you can indeed email him at god@godserve.com.” Neil asked God how many emails He gets, and His reply is our quote of the day.  It constitutes an oraculum, a figure that uses God’s own words for persuasion.  This is the ultimate argument by character, since God’s character trumps everything.

But when God is speaking for Himself, is it still an oraculum? We’ll say yes.  God can use any figure He wants.

Snappy Answer:  “I’m glad you’ve upgraded that burning bush.”

Gonna Take a Bureaucratic Journey.

Quote:  “The College Board recognizes that there are many paths towards becoming an effective AP teacher.”  The College Board.

Figure of Speech:  commonplace, the logical building block.

Advanced Placement teachers have until June to get their course syllabi approved by the College Board, the group that administers the AP exams.  The audit is supposed to weed out mere honors courses that have taken on the “AP” label for the added prestige.

The move hasn’t thrilled teachers (to coin a litotes).  To allay fears that the the audit will dictate the way teachers teach, the Board employs a commonplace — a belief or desire shared by the audience.

Our culture’s rhetorical amnesia makes us consider a commonplace a cliché, but it’s much more than that.  To persuade people, you must start with your audience’s position — its commonplace.  Use  it to make a decision or action seem reasonable or to enhance your rhetorical character.  In this case, the College board takes teachers’ desire for independence, along with your average teacher’s love of path-and-journey metaphors.   The testing behemoth morphs into  a soothing hand-holder.

Snappy Answer:  “And filling out forms isn’t one of them.”

Conversationgate

Quote:  “One month ago, I began a conversation with you… I hope you’ve learned a little bit more about what I’m believing and trying to do, and really help this conversation about our country get started.  I hope to keep this conversation going.”  Hilary Clinton as Big Sister in a YouTube attack video.

Figure of Speech: antistrephon (an-TIS-tre-phon), the boomerang figure.  From the Greek, meaning “turning to the opposite side.”

A mysteriously produced video takeoff on Apple’s famous “1984” ad shows a zombified audience staring at a giant screen while a scary-looking Senator Clinton speaks.  The video ends with an athletic woman shattering the screen with a sledgehammer. Why did the video’s makers choose to have Hilary talk about a “conversation”?  Because they want to turn a favorable label against her.  Watch the ad, and “conversation” sounds like a dictator’s doublespeak.

The video constitutes a masterful antistrephon, a figure of redefinition that turns your opponent’s term against him. The technology makes this seem like a new political tactic.  But in the early 1800s, politicos used the same rhetorical device:  they printed anonymous pamphlets that boomeranged their rivals’ terms.  

YouTube’s political videos, in other words, are nothing more than computerized pamphleteering.

Snappy Answer:  “When do I get to talk?”

Argue With Me!

A rhetoric article by Figaro has just been nominated for  National Magazine Award!  (That’s the Oscars of magazines, except the people aren’t nearly as good-looking.)  The piece shows parents how to teach their kids to argue.  Figarists may be interested especially in the sidebar titled “Aristotle’s Guide to Dinner Table Conversation.”  You can find the story here.

 And while we’re bragging, Figaro has done 34 interviews for more than 400 radio stations.   He talks about figures of speech, among other rhetoric topics, on Radio West, an NPR regional affiliate.   Listen to the interview here. 

 This rhetoric stuff is going to be really big.  Cicero told us so.