Bush and Rove have no idea about what 'cut' means, let alone 'run'. And considering their general inability to work cooperatively with anyone, I'm not sure they understand 'and' either. I'm not surprised that Republicans repeat this metaphor, but you'd think that Democrats could manage to look up the meaning of these words and throw the real meanings right back in Rove's fake teeth.
When I first heard them repeating 'won't cut and run' over and over, I first thought, "What the heck do they think was cut?" and my mental picture was something like this (only in Iraq, not Nevada):
Sunset from the Moonlight Bunny Ranch in Dayton, Nev., tries to toss the rope to camel wrangler Shorty Smith from Tasmania after a camel race Friday September 6, 2002
Follow below the fold to read about Bush's colossal foolishness in using nautical metaphors in a desert country and what those nautical metaphors really mean.
The
House of Representatives has voted not to 'cut and run'. And what drives me crazy is not just that 42 Democrats bought into this foolishness; they also keep repeating this
'cut and run' metaphor like it was appropriate. But it isn't. And 'stay the course' is not the opposite of 'cut and run' either, although you might think it was the way all the Democrats seem to buy into this bogus metaphor. Today I notice Dems are calling it just a slogan, but it isn't. It's a metaphor and one that totally doesn't work the way Bush & co are using it.
Granted it is a dead metaphor and has been used outside of its original usage for a long time, but there are some interesting points to be made when we examine the real meaning of the saying.
Both "cut and run," and "stay the course" are phrases from the days of sailing ships.
And they are DEFINITELY NOT opposites.
The strategy of 'cut and run' refers to cutting the anchor rope, raising sail, and sailing before the wind (running) to take the most direct course out of trouble. Picture yourself as captain of a full rigged sailing ship. Running is sailing with the wind behind you so that your square sails are all full, and the ship sails straight up. Running allows your square-rigged ship to sail with the lowest apparent wind and the flattest angle from vertical. It is your ship's fastest point of sail, but can be tricky to steer a straight course since the rudder gives little feedback to the helmsman.
You cut and run when you see a storm coming. If you saw an enemy coming while you were at anchor you would also 'cut and run'. Check out all the paintings of naval battles. You will notice that in general, the ships are taking advantage of being under sail to out-maneuver the the enemy. They aren't just sitting at anchor, waiting for the enemy to take them out. And they aren't wasting time hauling up the anchor; they have gotten underway at once.
The opposite of 'cut and run' then isn't to stay the course. The opposite of 'cut and run' is to stupidly remain at anchor, doing nothing while trouble approaches, or to waste time trying to save a relatively cheap anchor and ending up losing the boat, crew, the cargo and the war.
Here is a picture of a ship that failed to 'cut and run'.
Note the trailing anchor ropes.
Staying the course isn't always a good thing in the nautical world either. Staying the course has the literal meaning that the ship will continue in the same direction, regardless of wind and wave conditions, and any other considerations. Depending on the conditions, staying the course can be either smart or stupid. It isn't necessarily the right strategy every time. Staying the course in Iraq is like the following old joke (which snopes says is not true):
The following is the transcript of the actual radio conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland:
Canadians: Please divert your course 15 degrees the South to avoid a collision.
Americans: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees the North to avoid a collision.
Canadians: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.
Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.
Americans: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, I SAY AGAIN, THAT'S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.
Canadians: This is a lighthouse, over...