Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Inapt DNA metaphors
I've noticed a flood of bad DNA metaphors coming from Bush administration officials recently. I'm still working on a theory as to why they've chosen DNA as their metaphor-du-jour, but here's a recent egregious example:
Another recent example suggests that the Bush administration isn't as different from Clinton's as it would like to think:
"It's like the twin strands of a double helix of a DNA molecule," said an official planning for the vote. "One strand is the technical and operational part. We are basically on course for that one, in perhaps 70 or 80 percent of Iraq," the official said. "But the other strand, without which you can't have DNA, is the overall environment. There we have a problem."Oh, we've got a problem all right. It's hard to know where to start identifying the number of things wrong with this statement, but you can't have DNA without two strands? Tell it to the single-stranded DNA viruses!
Another recent example suggests that the Bush administration isn't as different from Clinton's as it would like to think:
"Aides said many other such moves will be announced, because Bush and senior adviser Karl Rove are determined to 'implant their DNA throughout the government,' as one official put it."If you're in government, I have a recommendation - don't wear a blue dress to work!
