The Duchess of Alaska, Sarah Palin, had a pronouncement over the past weekend.  On two occasions, which were recorded in newscasts, Sarah used the word “refudiate.”  When she was asked to explain what “refudiate” meant, she said that William Shakespeare made up new words at various times in his career.  Those of us in the lower forty-eight are left to wonder whether the Duchess of Alaska is comparing herself to William Shakespeare.  She has no plays or poems to her credit but apparently she believes that the new word “refudiate” makes her an author of some kind in the class of William Shakespeare.
I assume that Mrs. Palin must have considered “refudiate” as a new word added to the august English language.  If that is the case, she never used the word neologism to describe such a new word.  I suspect that the neologism is a term that Mrs. Palin, her daughter Bristol, her prospective son-in-law and her Eskimo husband would find foreign to them.
As I said, on two occasions she used this new word, “refudiate,” much to the bafflement of her listeners including me.  When newspaper reporters began to question Mrs. Palin, it turns out that the word that she was really looking for was “repudiate.”  There is a gulf between “repudiate” and “refudiate” that most of us dare not cross.  But for Mrs. Palin, it is no trouble at all, particularly when she claims that even Shakespeare made up new words.
My guess is that at the White House, the campaign machinery has gone into high gear to help Mrs. Palin’s become the Republican nominee.  My earnest belief is that Barack Obama would dearly love the opportunity to run against Mrs. Palin in 2012.  Mrs. Palin claims that she is loaded with common sense and does not need exposure to the finer arts and communication.  Common sense is all well and good but I should think that Mr. Obama would be slobbering at the chance to run against the Duchess of Alaska in 2012.  If she is the nominee of the Republican Party, as she may well be, I suspect that people of even ordinary literary brains will run for the hills.
I know a little bit about neologisms, and “refudiate” ain’t no neologism.  It is a blunder of mispronouncing the simple word, “repudiate.”  And to think that this candidate was running for the number two job in November, 2008 standing behind a 72-year-old presidential candidate who had a form of cancer!  But stranger things have happened, more than 52 million Americans voted for George W. Bush in 2004, which returned him to office.  It could be that the voters in this country will “refudiate” those of us who know what a neologism is when we see one.  In the meantime, I suspect that the Duchess of Alaska will have her hands full planning the wedding of her daughter to the most eligible bachelor north of the lower forty-eight, Levi Johnston.  Do you suppose that Levi and Bristol would postpone their wedding until it could be held in the White House?  All I can say is, “Stay tuned.”  It may be that more strange things will happen.
 
E. E. CARR
July 19, 2010
Essay 475
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Kevin’s commentary:  I am afraid that Pop may have misunderestimated poor Mrs. Palin’s intelligence here.  I actually love the self-made comparison to Shakespeare. She lives in her own little world.