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Thu 08 Aug 2009Finding the right words in a downturn
COMMENTARY:TO UNDERSTAND the power of language, one need only look at US president Barack Obama’s universal healthcare plan. It no longer exists, writes FRANK HUMPHREYS
At least, the word “universal” has been dropped. Perhaps it was too close in meaning to “common” and, by association, “communist”. Now, Democrats talk of a public option. Influential pollster and wordsmith Frank Luntz advises Republicans to call it a Washington takeover. He has even produced a 28-page guide, The Language of Healthcare 2009.
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