“He said to me, ‘Eric, don’t call my bluff. I’m going to the American people with this,’ “ Cantor said. “I was somewhat taken aback,” he added, with a smile.
The second part of it is clearly meant to imply, "You'll regret it if you call." But if that's the message, then his point is that he is not bluffing. The two parts of the message are incongruent.
I don't think it's reasonable to see this as a clever attempt to get somebody to do the opposite of the literal meaning of the words, like Brer Rabbit saying "Don't throw me into that briar patch." It was just an inept choice of words, not thought through.
Maybe it's just me, but if I intended to convey the message, "You may think I'm bluffing here, but I'm not," I would probably say something like, "You may think I'm bluffing here, but I'm not."
In other words, I agree that that is most likely approximately what was intended. The word choice, however, was awkward at best.
At that point, I would have liked if one of the GOP leaders had said "You're bluffing? I'm all in!"
ReplyDeleteTo answer your closing question, a lot of people did, sadly. I'm guessing they feel like they got bluffed, too.
Actually, if someone at a poker table said "Don't call my bluff" wouldn't he be trying to talk you into calling because he's really not bluffing?
ReplyDeleteStop with the first level thinking.
I did.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that classic table talk? "Don't call my bluff..." when you hold the nuts.
The full quotation:
ReplyDelete“He said to me, ‘Eric, don’t call my bluff. I’m going to the American people with this,’ “ Cantor said. “I was somewhat taken aback,” he added, with a smile.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/171403-obama-warns-cantor-dont-call-my-bluff-in-debt-talks
The second part of it is clearly meant to imply, "You'll regret it if you call." But if that's the message, then his point is that he is not bluffing. The two parts of the message are incongruent.
I don't think it's reasonable to see this as a clever attempt to get somebody to do the opposite of the literal meaning of the words, like Brer Rabbit saying "Don't throw me into that briar patch." It was just an inept choice of words, not thought through.
If you punctuate it like this:
ReplyDeleteDon't call my "bluff." I'm going to the American people with this.
you get the sense he was trying to convey, i.e.: "you may think I'm bluffing here, but I'm not."
Maybe it's just me, but if I intended to convey the message, "You may think I'm bluffing here, but I'm not," I would probably say something like, "You may think I'm bluffing here, but I'm not."
ReplyDeleteIn other words, I agree that that is most likely approximately what was intended. The word choice, however, was awkward at best.
Huh, this is odd. I followed the link to read your source for myself.
ReplyDeleteThe quotation you cited is nowhere to be found in the article now (although it lingers in the URL).
I wanted to check because I noticed that they were reporting what SOMEONE ELSE SAID that Obama said (and not someone who's exactly a fan, either).
Was it removed, or was it in some other article?
It's still there, 13th paragraph of article from "The Hill."
ReplyDeleteI don't see it. This is the link in your piece:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/2011/07/14/137835875/obama-to-gop-dont-call-my-bluff
That's NPR, not "The Hill."
Read comment thread.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I missed that.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to change your link in the main post to that one, since it's where the quotation from Cantor actually appears.
The poker analogy of Colbert is more apt:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/391826/july-13-2011/obama-calls-the-republican-bluff