Los Angeles Public Relations

It seems the word unprecedented has become the flavour of the month for the White House.

Former aides to President George W. Bush, did a collective eye roll, when it was used when meeting with students in Beijing at town hall, “a first by an American President visiting China”, they seem to have gotten use to Obama’s overuse of the word.

Former Bush adviser Karen Hughes laughed as she said “I think I attended a town hall with President Bush in China,”  recalling a 2002 speech in Beijing, where Bush answered questions from the crowd. “I thought: Were they asleep? Or were they dreaming? I remember standing and watching President Bush engage in a town hall that I believe was televised,” she continued.

In 1998 Chinese students, questions were also answered by President Bill Clinton, with a trip to the country. He also did a call in radio show based in Shanghai the next day.

The new members of the White House’s description of Obama and his visit to the Beijing town hall also was common with an explanation of his address to the students on their first day of school. The visit being deemed “historic” by the Education Department. Although both Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush both spoke to students. Suggesting that maybe the only “historic” thing about Obama’s speech was the online streaming video of the address.

Some of the times that Obama has used the word are as follows :

Obama noted that world leaders took “unprecedented steps” on nuclear nonproliferation, when he was the first U.S. president to chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

He has also been reported stating at the “unprecedented” Recovery Act signing, that when he first took over office he faced “unprecedented international cooperation”, and “took office amid unprecedented economic turmoil.” Although it seems the Great Depression as well as the New Deal may be seen as precedents for the economic crisis as the time, as well as the $787 billion plan for stimulus.

He also promised “an unprecedented effort to root out waste and inefficiency” although this promise seems an echo of our past presidents.

Such as President Lyndon B. Johnson who spoke to congress in 1965 saying ” I believe the congress and the American people approve my goals of economy and efficiency,” continuing to say, “I believe they are as opposed to waste as I am. We can and will eliminate it.”