Phonetic For One, Phonetic For All, It's Only Fair

Link:

The Washington Post's Double-Standard on Quoting Politicians

Look closely at the way the Washington Post quotes Barack Obama yesterday:

He chided Sen. John McCain some at both. "Yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he's president, he'll take on the, quote, old boys' network in Washington," Obama said in Elko.

"I am not making this up. This is someone who's been in Congress for 26 years - who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign - and now he's the one who will take on the old boy network?" Obama continued. "The old boy network? In the McCain campaign, that's called a staff meeting."

Look closely at the way the Washington Post quotes Sarah Palin yesterday:

"John? John?'' Sarah Palin called to John McCain. "Can I add somethin'?'' ...

One woman wanted to give her the chance to address those who say Palin can't be a mother and vice president. "Well, let's prove 'em wrong,'' Palin said to cheers.

She talked about her role if the ticket is elected: "Let me tell you, I know a little bit about energy. That's gonna be my baby when I get to Washington, D.C.''

"Somethin'" instead of "something"; "'em" instead of "them"; "gonna" instead of "going to." I don't doubt that's the way Palin sounded. But I've heard a lot of politicians drop their 'g's and 'th's, and this is the first time I've seen a newspaper put three of them in one story about a politician's speech.

Obama has suddenly discovered a drawl when appearing before audiences in the South, but I don't recall transcripts suddenly reflecting that. Those of us who have watched Obama on the stump know that "uh" punctuates his speeches with surprising frequency. Usually, we drop them when quoting him, as they're superfluous to covering the news.

Depending on your view, the dropped 'g's, etc., can sound folksy or uneducated. I just want newspapers to be consistent in their application.

UPDATE: A reader says that any fair ear would say that Obama was referring to the "ol' boys network" in his statement quoted above. I haven't heard the audio myself, but find that characterization quite plausible.

Weasels.