Linguist Ben Zimmer digs into previous presidents’ attempts to own their eponyms and finds success largely hinges on the popularity of the policy:
Events on the ground have dictated the fate of other personalized political words, such as those in the “-nomics” family. “Nixonomics” was originally suggested within the Nixon White House in the summer of 1969, in a memo circulated by a young speechwriter named William Safire.
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Jen Doll investigates the rise of “word lengthening,” adding extra letters, in intimate messages: Ben Zimmer, a linguist and lexicographer, notes that elongations, like emoticons and initialisms (OMG! LOL!), tend to flourish in thos... Read Post
Steve Walt takes issue with Drezner's positive spin: Dan's broader point about Obama's foreign policy successes is insightful: the president has done well in those relatively minor areas where domestic politics do not loom large and... Read Post
Much of Obamacare’s success hinges on whether a pair of new taxes can compel more Americans to have health insurance. For all the carrots in the 2010 law such as tax credits and subsidies, there are two big sticks of the big sticks ... Read Post