Saddam Husseinscore also reflects a rationalizing tendency, a disinclination to face
unpleasant realities. Indeed, many of Hussein's explainers were used
to justify Iraq's aggressive behavior in the Middle East. In the cate-
gory of creative or colorful speech, Hussein's score is rather low.
There is almost no wit in his responses, few metaphors, arid little in
the way of idiosyncratic juxtaposition of words. The lack of color,
together with low scores in the feelings categories, reinforces the
impression of a cold and detached speaker. If creative speech reflects
creative thinking, we may conclude that the Iraqi leader lacks the
capacity for innovative reflection.
How are we to understand Hussein's minimal use of the personal
pronouns / and we? Western leaders tend to use more Vs. If a West-
ern leader is a crusader, a leader who presents himself as the leader of
a movement, his or her use of the pronoun we will increase. Eastern
autocratic leaders, particularly those who are the heads of political
parties, often make little use of personal pronouns. Communist party
leaders, for example, try to present themselves as representatives of a
collective leadership. In such cases, an excessive use of personal pro-
nouns would be considered to be in bad taste. One indication that
Mikhail Gorbachev was a new kind of Soviet leader was his frequent
use of personal pronouns during his press conferences. It is likely
that Hussein's avoidance of personal pronouns is due partly to a
detached speaking style and partly to his need to present himself as
the leader of a political party.
What is the impact on a listener of a speaking style that combines
few expressions of feeling with the frequent use oi: adverbial
intensifiers and direct references? We suggest that the effect of such
a verbal pattern would be one of cold, aggressive intrusiveness. This
is the speech pattern of a menacing speaker, a bully. In my experi-
ence, this use of the verbal categories is unusual among American
political leaders. Listeners in a democratic society do not easily toler-
ate such forceful speaking styles. Candidates with intrusive and
aggressive speaking styles usually do not win free elections.
Of all the political leaders I have studied in the United States,
only Pat Buchanan possesses the speaking style of a bully. Buchanan,
however, possesses a verbal quality absent in Hussein's speech—cre-
ative expressions. Many of Buchanan's creative remarks are humor-
ous, a verbal characteristic that softens the intrusive nature of his