What Obama’s ‘Making Sure’ Of

American Thinker

By Cindy Simpson

One of President Obama’s less-noticed verbal tics is his frequent use of the expression “make sure.” He recentlyproclaimed: “Talk is cheap and we’ve gotta actually make sure we can do it.” 

The “it” in that opening statement of his “Promise Zones” speech was to “help more Americans get ahead” — beginning with the extension of unemployment benefits.

Besides the fact that Obama’s talk is actually anything but “cheap” — the unemployment extension alone will costbillions – have you noticed how frequently he and other politicians use the phrase, “make sure”?  Last week, in his brief remarks on the unemployment issue, Obama said “make sure” five times; in the Promise Zones speech, seven.

This week, Obama reassured his cabinet with the phrase no less than five times in under two minutes.  The primary goal of his “pen-and-phone strategy” that won’t wait for legislation — “to make sure that we are providing Americans the kind of help that they need.” “Make sure” was also party of his “unifying theme:”  “making sure that this is a country where if you work hard you can make it.”

“Make sure” is certainly a common phrase, but listen closely when politicians use it — because as Obama begins his “year of action” and the heat turns up under all the scandals, Obamacare issues, proposed immigration reform, and budget talks — you’ll hear the words even more often.  And there’s more to the “make sure” rhetoric than meets the ear.

Differences in pronunciation of some familiar terms, illustrated with color-coded US maps, was the subject of a fascinating recent study. If a similar map could be drawn for the phrase “make sure” based on frequency of usage, our nation’s capital would be the glaring red spot. It also happens to be the home of the wealthiest individuals in the country, many who seem preoccupied with making sure the wealth of everyone else is spread around.

Fuzzy “we need to make sure that (fill-in-the-blank)” statements provide an authoritative cover for politicians who likely have no real concept of what they’re talking about — other than the surety that spending more money is the solution. And when the rest of us are talking about things those same politicians wish we weren’t, the vague platitude serves as an affirming distraction.

Here’s a quick rundown of some interesting “make sure” statements. In each, note that while one side of the speaker’s mouth offers the inspirational solution, the other hints at something else.

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