[Milton-L] Is this Milton allusion apt?

[Nancy Charlton]

Did you all see this in the NY Times today? It's in the "comments" (#260 following an opinion piece titled "The Real John McCain" and singled out in a sidebar:
The RNC has
exposed John McCain's true face--he's Dorian Gray, he's Faust, he's
Satan in Paradise Lost. Except that Milton was a far superior
speechwriter to the hacks paid by the McCain campaign. Whoever said
Faust/Palin '08 above said it right--or maybe Faust/Stalin '08 is
more accurate. What a joke.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/opinion/05fri1.html
Obama's acceptance speech was almost
but not quite a classical seven-part oration. The best political speech, for my money,
since John F. Kennedy's “Ask not” and that was the best
since Lincoln's Second Inaugural unless you count Bryant's “Cross
of Gold” or King's “I have a dream.” None of the  convention
speeches came close to “Areopagitica,” but still there was some
engaging rhetoric in Obama's. 

It struck me early on that
"McCain" must be Scots for "son of Cain." Does
that make him sort of a Grendel? Will he tear off Obama's arm? More
likely a task for the only vice-prez candidate who dresses out moose.


And if this election were a century ago when even Alaskans
studied Latin, someone in the DNC might have noted that "Obama"
is "amabo" spelled backwards. What a slogan: "Obama
amabo," fits right in with his “bright future” theme. On the
other hand they did probably don't want the love of Obama always to
be in the future, even if it is active and indicative. But "Obama
amo" conjures up Rosanna Bannadanna, so that won't do, even
though it's the present (and still active indicative). After all, we
wouldn't want to say "Obama amavi." All of which is about
as accurate as the claim that "Si se puede" translates to
"Yes we can." I can't resist the mild pedantic observation
that this is literally, 'yes, it is possible.'  Not very
catchy!

Nancy
Charlton
http://groups.google.com/group/paradiselostdaily

Heav'n
is for thee too high
To know what passes there; be lowly wise:. .
. (PL VIII.172-173)


      
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