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Teleostomi Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Is this sentence of Nixon's correct?

I would say only that if some of my judgments were wrong, and some were wrong, they were made in what I believed at the time to be the best interest of the Nation.
I think this sentence is grammatically wrong. What do you think?
  

Top answer

Seems fine to me. Considering most presidents employ professional speech writers, it's unlikely that in a historic and carefully prepared speech like the one in question, he would make a serious grammatical error.

— Saiing

  • Seems fine to me.
  • Considering most presidents employ professional speech writers, it's unlikely that in a historic and carefully prepared speech like the one in question, he would make a serious grammatical error.
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7 Answers
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Seems fine to me. Considering most presidents employ professional speech writers, it's unlikely that in a historic and carefully prepared speech like the one in question, he would make a serious grammatical error.
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Hi,

Seems OK to me. Why do you think it's wrong?

Best wishes, Clive
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My judgments were made in the best interest of the nation.
At least at the time I believed it to be the best interest of the nation.
That is, I believed that, at the time, it was the best interest of the nation.

Compare.

I heard a rustling in the bushes. I believed it was a dangerous animal. I ran away.
(I believed it to be a dangerous anim
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They chose a complicated structure for a reason. When politicians deliver speeches on subjects they don't want to talk about (usually because they're at fault), they tend to deliberately obfuscate their language.
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Thank you, everyone!Emotion: wink

CalifJim, your explanation is quite clear and helped a lot.

Are the two forms interchan
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TeleostomiAre the two forms interchangeable? I mean, is it OK to rewrite the Nixon's sentence as follows?

they were made in what I believed at the time was the best interest of the Nation.

While your sentence is correct, I think Nixon's, using to be, is better in outlining that
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is it OK to rewrite the Nixon's sentence as follows? they were made in what I believed at the time was the best interest of the Nation.
Yes.

CJ
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