"Is our children learning?"

"I know about small business. I use to be one."

President Bush is certainly not alone in his occasional unsuccessful bouts with the language. Many of us have stumbled over a dangling participle or subject verb disagreement. Such slips did not and should not have kept him from being elected president. Neither do these errors signal that he is intellectually not fit for his office. What then is all the fuss about? The comics are having a field day.

The problem is that as soon as we focus on a mispronounced word, an incomplete sentence or a misplaced modifier, the message he is presenting is blunted. The moment has been robbed of its intensity. No longer are we concentrating on revamping the social security system, improving Medicare or strengthening the military, we are thinking about a slip of the tongue. We then start to replay all of the other muffs and our concentration is gone.

The welfare of the nation is not at stake. We will survive; he will survive. Unfortunately, his message will be compromised.

Trouble with the language effectively ended Vice-president Dan Quail's political career. He was literally laughed off the political stage. Was this fair? Of course not. The spelling of "potato" has nothing what so ever to do with the qualifications for high office; however, the incident reinforced an impression that was already out there.

Distractions pose problems for anyone who has a message he/she wants to get across. One of the major reasons that some members of the clergy wear robes is to take the attention off the individual and focus it on the message. If you are drawn to the tie that the minister is wearing or why he chose that jacket or why she is wearing those earrings then the message is lost.

When I worked with the lectors at Christ Our King Catholic Church I was given a book to use that had the best explanation of this principle that I have ever read. "The lector is to be a window through which the hearer can see God." If the reading of Scripture is too good or is poorly done then the view is distorted. In other words, don't get in the way of your message.

This is why the president of the United States is introduced with the simplest of statements. "Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States." What more needs to be said?

We expect so much of our presidents. No mere human being could ever meet these expectations. We do expect them to speak impeccable English clearly. Jimmy Carter did not escape ridicule with his Southern drawl neither did Ross Perot with his nasal twang.

What keeps your message from getting across - poor grammar, mispronunciations, too much verbiage, too heavy an accent, or poorly chosen words?

It is possible to over come all of these distractions or at least minimize them, but not without concentrated effort. The reward will be your ability to present your message clearly without giving your listener an excuse to abandon you.