A Simple Observation

A good deal of BBC Radio finds itself playing in our happy little multi-cultural home, and I’ve noticed something in particular: when referring to the President of the United States, foreign reporters often simply say “President Bush said today…” or “Reports that President Bush will do such and such…”.

This is different from NPR, where even when referring to well known world leaders such as former President Putin or former Prime Minister Tony Blair, reporters will almost always state the name of the country to which the person is involved.

I don’t believe this is a cultural difference in the manner that other countries simply have a less formal idea, but rather that the President of the United States is so vastly known — whether due to the power of this country or the gruesome violent idiocy of the current President — that he doesn’t need much of an introduction.

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