In the early days of the 2008 presidential race, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) tried pretty hard to raise his visibility and name recognition, but at times, he tried a little too hard. Campaigning in Iowa in March 2011, the St. Paul native inexplicably adopted a Southern accent, in an apparent bid to appear folksy.
When Minnesotans were played an audio clip of Pawlenty's remarks in Iowa, they had no idea who they were listening to. One said, "He didn't talk like that when he was governor."
The larger lesson: politicians shouldn't adopt fake accents. It's a lesson Ohio's Josh Mandel apparently missed.
Mandel, a far-right U.S. Senate candidate perhaps best known for trying to routinely deceive the public, doesn't speak with a Southern accept, but this week, he suddenly developed one on the campaign trail.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, "In Beallsville, [Mitt] Romney briefly yielded the stage to U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel, who gave an odd minute-and-a-half speech where he started with a southern accent unheard before. Mandel lives in Lyndhurst near Cleveland."
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Lyndhurst isn't even south of Cleveland, ya'll.
The word is AIN'T, ma'am.
The way I see it....let em fake it....it tells us more about the character of the candidate. I laugh my ass off each time one of these guys hits a new part of the Country and flip and flop into the role of that area. I think intelligent folk get pissed and offended and they should......jus say'in.
Both sides do it. I remember in the 2008 primary campaign when Hillary Clinton was in the South...she had a definite southern drawl and used the local vocabulary too. Even President Obama has changed his dialect based on the crowd he is speaking to. Not so much on accents, but on slang. This is not a new thing to this election. It's just like when a band compliments the town du jour and the locals erupt in applause.
What a surprise that you would say that. Skip.
And yet you gave only examples from one side.
"Both sides do it" seems to be your standard generic criticism of Republicans. With Democrats you seem to be much more specific. Which is odd given your claims that you're:
"not a Republican" and "not a conservative".
Rollo,
THIS post is about the Republican side and everyone was pretty much posting on how silly the Republicans look doing it. I was just pointing out that it is done by BOTH sides. But if it make you happy ...see the above post by Steve - it shows Republicans doing it TOO. OK??
"Hello Denver - City By The Bay!"
Funny... so, I guess this is just part of the Rape-Public-CONs' "Southern Strategy".
;-)
Skip, Hillary spent nearly 20 years in Arkansas and is married to an Arkansan. My Dad was born in Arkansas, but has a California accent(at least when sober) after spending nearly all of his double digit years here.
Pawlenty was born, raised, and has spent his entire adult life in Minnesota. Mandel, didn't leave Ohio until he went to Iraq with the Marine Corps Reserves after getting his J.D. from Case Western.
This double (and triple) posting with one click is getting really old Newsvine.
Reeeeaaalllly old.
I'm from Vermont but my mother-in-law is from North Carolina. When I visit, my voice changes without any conscious effort on my part. When I hear a British accent, my inner voice starts to turn British and I'm sure if I was in Britain, my accent would change. I can't hold it against him.
Yeah. I'd give him a pass on this one. I also tend to match accents a bit, after talking to people. It's involuntary, although I can turn it up a notch if I want to.
Having been to Scranton where Joe Biden grew up, I can say positively they don't say y'all there.
Well gee, it worked great for Hillary Clinton and Obama.
Hillary Clinton is from the south, and Barack Obama doesn't sound southern. At all. Even a little bit. Whatsoever. Go away! You have never posted anything in the least bit informative, funny, or witty! Goddamn you are so dumb!
Patrick,
Hillary Clinton is from Park Ridge, Illinois just outside Chicago. That isn't very far south. From your post: Goddamn you are so dumb!
There is a lot more phoney with Josh Mandel than his accent. He has been able to pull even in polls against Sherrod Brown ONLY because of $10 million+ that the Rove/Koch cabal has spent in support of him. He has been state treasurer for less than two years and has not even met all of his responsibilities and obligations in that job.
Ohio does something to people, that's why I left when I had the opportunity!
They jus' tryin' ta sound lak theah new bosses talk - y'all know 'em? Ol' Massa who pays alla der bribes?
As a northeast Ohioan (we're different from the rest of the state!), I have to say that I hate the tendency of some Ohioans to adopt a fake southern accent. And a lot of them do it. I grew up in Geauga county, it's the big red block with three steps on top that's surrounded by blue counties on electoral maps. People there love them some confederate flags and fake southern accents.
Honest to science, it's like a hillbilly jamboree in the middle of otherwise liberal and libertarian leaning reasonable people. Scary. (But, I still love it, of course!)
As a northerner who tries really hard to avoid the NY/RI/Boston accents, I also adopt accents like mad. I vistited GA for a week and came back with "yall" coming out of my mouth having never "yalled" anyone in my life - even for fun. A semester with a NJ room-mate and I had NJ-isms out the wazoo. A weekend in Canada and I split single vowels into two sylables. I watch a Jane Austen marathon and start speaking with an upper crust accent. When I'm overtired the hodgepodge of accents that comes out is quite funny.
So when a politician does it, it could be accidental pick up. Could be.