Since it’s Bush Week around here, let’s talk about The Decider. With Donald ‘Abu’ Rumsfeld under fire, Bush has stepped in to remind everyone that he’s the one with all the power around here.
“I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I’m the decider, and I decide what is best. And what’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.”
‘Hearing the voices’ is a trifle worrying, but were you heartened to hear that he reads the front page? Maybe if he read more of the paper, he’d be a Better Decider.
The word ‘decider’ isn’t new; it even has an established computational meaning. In the linguistic ham-hands of Bush, the word takes on a dangerously petulant, yet still mockable tone.
But this usage has legs. The Daily Show has picked it up, and it may cross into other domains as well. For example, the New York Times asks: Are you the decider in your relationship?
[W]hile spouses are often quick to say they jointly consider where to vacation, how many children to have, what car to buy and where to live, each is often quick to lay claim to some, if not all, of the domestic terrain.
…
But dubbing oneself “the decider” is often much less about the end product — a new stove, a vacation, a cabinet member — than it is about expressing power.
Very similar to the Seinfeldian notion of having ‘hand‘ in the relationship.
I often run into the trap of giving power to people who want it, especially if they’re good at using it. On those occasions when I’ve had to be the Decider, and it’s something I’m interested in, I’ve done it well. I can do Decider. Decider is good for me.
So I shall be watching with (some) interest when the American Dialect Society picks its Word of the Year. I bet ‘decider’ is an early favourite.
4 May 2006 at 10:59 pm
This is the kind of language used by people who want to have a “Daddy” in charge.
5 May 2006 at 4:43 am
Oo, ‘stern father’ politics. Have you been reading Lakoff?
I know, framing is so 2004. But it’s still good.