The AmBush of English

All of us are guilty of an occasional botch-up or two in grammar. It is perfectly natural, and shows that our metabolic systems are well adjusted. But among the most notorious botch-uppers of our time, only George Bush can lay claim to have elevated it to an art form. So much so, that now other prominent leaders seem to be hotting up to the limitless possibilities that an occasional misundermining, if I may, of English grammar has to offer. The general opinion is that Bush's particular brand of English, for want of a better word, played a not insignificant role in his re-election to the office (pardon the negatives, they are in keeping with the theme). Much like our very own "daliton, pitchdon, aur alpsankhyakon ka masiha" Laloo Yadav, who can probably claim to have discovered this decades ahead of the others. His legendary status has now been immortalized in the delicious, and often very poignant, film Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav. Ok, I'm kidding, I haven't watched it, but you get what I mean.

Anyway, Tony Blair is said to have spoken thus in the House of Commons recently, talking about the Tsunami disaster:
"Scarcely any of us here will not know someone whose life has not been touched by this event. None of us will have not been moved to tears as, each night, we saw, and with mounting horror, the human tragedy that followed the natural disaster"

Though I love the extra negative in the first sentence that radically alters its intended (assumption) meaning, my 'personal favourite' is the uglier, if more semantically correct, "None of us will have not been moved to tears...". Mr.Blair, I am utterly delighted to report that you have done an absolute bloomer this time. And a most beautiful one at that.

Most authorities seem to agree on the point that there is something rummy about the way Blair goes about toeing Bush's line all the time, showing special enthusiasm when it comes to bombing the crap out of unsuspecting folk. This faux-pas, I think, apart from confirming the trend, also shows, beyond all reasonable doubt, just how far the rot has spread. In fact, I will go as far as to say that, at this rate, Blair should soon consider having a stab at running for the US presidency or something.