Past exonerative
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The "past exonerative" tense is a witticism coined by William Schneider of the New York Times to describe the rhetorical tactic of speaking in the passive voice in order to distance oneself from blame.[1] The tactic is most famous for being invoked by politicians.
The classic example of this usage was U.S. president Ronald Regan's statement "...mistakes were made...", first made in a December 6, 1986 address to the nation[2] and then again in his January 1987 State of the Union Address[3] to describe the actions of officials in his administration regarding Iran – obviously, but not explicitly, referring to the Iran-contra affair, where his administration sold arms to Iran to fund the contras in Nicaragua.
Other examples:
- U.S. president Clinton, regarding campaign financing abuses, January 1997, SFGate
- U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales on March 13, 2007, Washington Post
- U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron describing Guantanamo Bay, Al Jazeera interview, September 9, 2011
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Familiar Fallback for Officials: 'Mistakes Were Made'". New York Times. March 14, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14mistakes.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.
- ^ "Reagan: 'Mistakes were made'". Miami Herald. December 7, 1986. http://www.miamiherald.com/1986/12/07/457328/reagan-mistakes-were-made.html.
- ^ "Address Before a Joint Session of Congress on the State of the Union". January 27, 1987. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=34430#axzz1fd2ofBQV.
[edit] References
- Passively fascinating, The Economist
- "Mistakes Were Made": A Short History, Mark Knoller, CBS
