0:00:10.866,0:00:14.447
One of my favorite words in the whole[br]of the Oxford English Dictionary

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is "snollygoster,"

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just because it sounds so good.

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And what snollygoster means[br]is "a dishonest politician."

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Although there was a 19th-century[br]newspaper editor

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who defined it rather better when he said,

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"A snollygoster is a fellow[br]who seeks office

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regardless of party,[br]platform or principle,

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and who, when he wins,

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gets there by the sheer force[br]of monumental talknophical assumnancy."

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(Laughter)

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Now, I have no idea[br]what "talknophical" is.

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Something to do with words, I assume.

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But it's very important that words[br]are at the center of politics,

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and all politicians know[br]they have to try and control language.

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It wasn't until, for example, 1771

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that the British Parliament[br]allowed newspapers to report

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the exact words that were said[br]in the debating chamber.

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And this was actually[br]all down to the bravery

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of a guy with the extraordinary[br]name of Brass Crosby,

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who took on Parliament.

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And he was thrown into the Tower of London

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and imprisoned,

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but he was brave enough,

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he was brave enough[br]to take them on, and in the end,

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he had such popular support[br]in London that he won.

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And it was only a few years later

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that we have the first recorded use[br]of the phrase "as bold as brass."

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Most people think[br]that's down to the metal.

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It's not; it's down to a campaigner[br]for the freedom of the press.

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But to really show you[br]how words and politics interact,

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I want to take you back[br]to the United States of America,

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just after they'd achieved independence.

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And they had to face the question

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of what to call[br]George Washington, their leader.

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They didn't know.

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What do you call the leader[br]of a republican country?

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And this was debated[br]in Congress for ages and ages.

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And there were all sorts[br]of suggestions on the table,

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which might have made it.

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I mean, some people[br]wanted him to be called

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"Chief Magistrate Washington,"

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and other people,[br]"His Highness, George Washington,"

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and other people,

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"Protector of the Liberties

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of the People of the United States[br]of America Washington."

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Not that catchy.

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Some people just wanted[br]to call him king --

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it was tried and tested.

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They weren't even being monarchical,

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they had the idea that you could[br]be elected king for a fixed term.

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And, you know, it could have worked.

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And everybody got insanely bored,

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because this debate[br]went on for three weeks.

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I read a diary of this poor senator[br]who just keeps coming back,

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"Still on this subject."

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And the reason for the delay[br]and the boredom

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was that the House of Representatives[br]were against the Senate.

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The House of Representatives didn't want[br]Washington to get drunk on power.

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They didn't want to call him "king,"[br]in case that gave him ideas,

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or his successor ideas.

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So they wanted to give him[br]the humblest, meagerest,

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most pathetic title[br]that they could think of.

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And that title ...

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was "President."

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(Laughter)

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"President." They didn't invent the title.

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I mean, it existed before,

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but it just meant somebody[br]who presides over a meeting.

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It was like the foreman of the jury.

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And it didn't have much more grandeur

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than the term "foreman" or "overseer."

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There were occasional presidents[br]of little colonial councils

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and bits of government,

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but it was really a nothing title.

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And that's why the Senate objected to it.

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They said, "That's ridiculous![br]You can't call him 'President.'

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This guy has to go and sign treaties[br]and meet foreign dignitaries.

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Who's going to take him seriously[br]if he's got a silly little title

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like 'President of the United[br]States of America'?"

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(Laughter)

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And after three weeks[br]of debate, in the end,

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the Senate did not cave in.

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Instead, they agreed to use[br]the title "President" for now.

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But they also wanted[br]it absolutely set down

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that they didn't agree with it,

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from a decent respect for the opinions[br]and practice of civilized nations,

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whether under republican[br]or monarchical forms of government,

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whose custom it is to annex,

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through the office[br]of the Chief Magistrate,

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titles of respectability --

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not bloody "President."

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And that, in the intercourse[br]with foreign nations,

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the majesty of the people[br]of the United States

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may not be hazarded[br]by an appearance of singularity --

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i.e., we don't want to look[br]like bloody weirdos.

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Now, you can learn[br]three interesting things from this.

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First of all -- and this is my favorite --

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is that, so far as I've ever[br]been able to find out,

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the Senate has never formally[br]endorsed the title of President.

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Barack Obama, President Obama,[br]is there on borrowed time,

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just waiting for the Senate[br]to spring into action.

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(Laughter)

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The second thing you can learn

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is that, when a government says[br]that this is a temporary measure --

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(Laughter)

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you can still be waiting 223 years later.

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But the third thing you can learn --[br]and this is the really important one,

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the point I want to leave you on --

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is that the title, "President[br]of the United States of America,"

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doesn't sound that humble[br]at all these days, does it?

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Something to do[br]with the slightly over 5,000

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nuclear warheads he has at his disposal

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and the largest economy in the world

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and a fleet of drones[br]and all that sort of stuff.

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Reality and history[br]have endowed that title with grandeur.

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And so the Senate won in the end.

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They got their title of respectability.

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And also, the Senate's other worry,[br]the appearance of singularity --

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well, it was a singularity back then.

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But now, do you know[br]how many nations have a president?

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A hundred and forty-seven.

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All because they want[br]to sound like the guy

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who's got the 5,000 nuclear warheads, etc.

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And so, in the end, the Senate won

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and the House of Representatives lost ...

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because nobody's going to feel that humble

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when they're told that they are now

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the President of the United[br]States of America.

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And that's the important lesson[br]I think you can take away,

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and the one I want to leave you with.

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Politicians try to pick and use words[br]to shape and control reality,

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but in fact,

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reality changes words far more[br]than words can ever change reality.

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Thank you very much.