Warm and Witty Side of Attila the Hun by Jeffrey Sackett
Authors: Jeffrey Sackett
Tags: Humor
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lots of coffee!" Eleanor commandeered as many coffee urns as she could get her hands on for this purpose.
The Bonus Army ended up building the Florida Keys Highway connecting the Florida mainland to Key West, and their bonus was eventually paid ten years early. But the presidential leadership difference was best encapsulated in the press, one of whose headlines read:
Â
HOOVER SENT TROOPS
ROOSEVELT SENT ELEANOR
ELEANOR BROUGHT COFFEE
Â
Anastasio Somoza was "president" of Nicaragua from 1930 until his assassination in 1950 and, like many Central American and Caribbean dictators, was both a brutal oppressor of his own people and a faithful client of the United States . When Franklin Roosevelt was discussing Somoza with his cabinet, one member objected to giving him our support. When Roosevelt asked why, the reply was, "Because I think he's a son of a bitch."
"Of course he's a son of a bitch," FDR replied. "But he's our son of a bitch."
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Most people are aware of the fact that JFK's speech in Berlin in 1961 contained the phrase " Ich bin ein Berliner" which is in the context of the speech means "I am a Berliner," but which can also be translated as "I am a jelly donut." (Proper German: Ich bin Berliner , without the indefinite article. Ein Berliner is a confectionary.) Less well known is the potentially lethal translation error that occurred in the White House early in 1947.
The wartime alliance of the United States and the Soviet Union had begun to deteriorate almost before the war itself ended, and negotiations between the two governments had grown acrimonious and heated. President Harry Truman arranged a meeting the Soviet foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, in an attempt reach some modus vivendi . Present at the meeting were only four people: Truman, Molotov, and two translators, in keeping with standard diplomatic practice. Truman's American translator told Truman what Molotov was saying, and Molotov's Soviet translator told Molotov what Truman was saying.
The translation problem arose from the Soviet translator's lack of familiarity with certain American idioms.
If we are going to restore amicable relations, Truman meant to say, we are going to have to discuss serious matters frankly. What he actually said, in his customary rural American idiom, was, "If we're going to bury the hatchet, we've got to talk turkey."
Apparently, the Soviet translator had no idea what Truman was talking about, so he translated the president's words as, "If there is to be war, let it be with the Turks."
The American translator quickly corrected the error, fortunately for everyone concerned (especially the Turks.)
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Truman had a well-documented temper and no compunction about expressing it. Three examples follow.
One: At the 1944 Democratic convention, Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy (father of the later president) was working against the renomination of FDR. Kennedy had been an isolationist before Pearl Harbor, and he blamed FDR for using the Japanese attack as an excuse to ally ourselves with Britain and Russia against Germany. When his eldest son Joseph Jr. joined the army and was shot down and killed by the Germans, his dislike of Roosevelt turned to hatred.
Kennedy was bad-mouthing FDR incessantly behind closed doors, which was beginning to make Truman's blood boil. At last Kennedy confronted Truman and demanded, "Why the hell are you supporting the son of a bitch that killed my boy Joe?"
Senator Truman thereupon grabbed Ambassador Kennedy by the lapels, pushed him up against a wall, and said, "If you say one more word against the president, I'm gonna throw you out the goddamned window!" Kennedy quieted down.
Two: The removal of General MacArthur for insubordination during the Korean War is well known. Less well known is that before removing him, when an aide asked Truman if he was going to ask for MacArthur's resignation, the president replied testily, "No, I'm not gonna ask for his resignation! I'm gonna fire
The Bonus Army ended up building the Florida Keys Highway connecting the Florida mainland to Key West, and their bonus was eventually paid ten years early. But the presidential leadership difference was best encapsulated in the press, one of whose headlines read:
Â
HOOVER SENT TROOPS
ROOSEVELT SENT ELEANOR
ELEANOR BROUGHT COFFEE
Â
Anastasio Somoza was "president" of Nicaragua from 1930 until his assassination in 1950 and, like many Central American and Caribbean dictators, was both a brutal oppressor of his own people and a faithful client of the United States . When Franklin Roosevelt was discussing Somoza with his cabinet, one member objected to giving him our support. When Roosevelt asked why, the reply was, "Because I think he's a son of a bitch."
"Of course he's a son of a bitch," FDR replied. "But he's our son of a bitch."
Â
Most people are aware of the fact that JFK's speech in Berlin in 1961 contained the phrase " Ich bin ein Berliner" which is in the context of the speech means "I am a Berliner," but which can also be translated as "I am a jelly donut." (Proper German: Ich bin Berliner , without the indefinite article. Ein Berliner is a confectionary.) Less well known is the potentially lethal translation error that occurred in the White House early in 1947.
The wartime alliance of the United States and the Soviet Union had begun to deteriorate almost before the war itself ended, and negotiations between the two governments had grown acrimonious and heated. President Harry Truman arranged a meeting the Soviet foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, in an attempt reach some modus vivendi . Present at the meeting were only four people: Truman, Molotov, and two translators, in keeping with standard diplomatic practice. Truman's American translator told Truman what Molotov was saying, and Molotov's Soviet translator told Molotov what Truman was saying.
The translation problem arose from the Soviet translator's lack of familiarity with certain American idioms.
If we are going to restore amicable relations, Truman meant to say, we are going to have to discuss serious matters frankly. What he actually said, in his customary rural American idiom, was, "If we're going to bury the hatchet, we've got to talk turkey."
Apparently, the Soviet translator had no idea what Truman was talking about, so he translated the president's words as, "If there is to be war, let it be with the Turks."
The American translator quickly corrected the error, fortunately for everyone concerned (especially the Turks.)
Â
Truman had a well-documented temper and no compunction about expressing it. Three examples follow.
One: At the 1944 Democratic convention, Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy (father of the later president) was working against the renomination of FDR. Kennedy had been an isolationist before Pearl Harbor, and he blamed FDR for using the Japanese attack as an excuse to ally ourselves with Britain and Russia against Germany. When his eldest son Joseph Jr. joined the army and was shot down and killed by the Germans, his dislike of Roosevelt turned to hatred.
Kennedy was bad-mouthing FDR incessantly behind closed doors, which was beginning to make Truman's blood boil. At last Kennedy confronted Truman and demanded, "Why the hell are you supporting the son of a bitch that killed my boy Joe?"
Senator Truman thereupon grabbed Ambassador Kennedy by the lapels, pushed him up against a wall, and said, "If you say one more word against the president, I'm gonna throw you out the goddamned window!" Kennedy quieted down.
Two: The removal of General MacArthur for insubordination during the Korean War is well known. Less well known is that before removing him, when an aide asked Truman if he was going to ask for MacArthur's resignation, the president replied testily, "No, I'm not gonna ask for his resignation! I'm gonna fire
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