Dove feathers in the President's mouth etc

[Paul Nightingale]

American listers might or might not know that here in Britain the Deputy
Prime Minister is John Prescott. The media get a lot of mileage from
laughing at the way Prescott 'mangles' the language when he speaks. This
includes faulty syntax and also his accent. Admittedly, his sentences do
take on a life of their own at times, but the point seems to be that we
don't have to take him too seriously. Prescott is an example of a
working-class trade unionist who became a Labour MP; he used to be
identified, broadly, with the left-of-centre within Labour. His accent is an
affront to those who think it signifies no education. Hence he becomes a
jumped-up oik who doesn't know his place. Had he chosen his parents more
wisely, he'd no doubt be more worthy of respect.

To the political elite, and that includes the media, Prescott is an
outsider. Do Bush's language skills have the same meaning, or even something
remotely similar, for Americans? Undeniably, Bush did choose his parents
more wisely than Prescott, but does he lose points for his accent? Is Bush
perceived as something of an outsider?