Barack Obama needs a new editor-in-chief. The use of dashes in his campaign memos is out of control. Brazen. Reckless. Alarming.

Today’s 347-word memo to supporters, written by Campaign Manager David Plouffe, reaches a new low. It contains seven dashes, shaking out to a formidable rate of one dash per 50 words. That’s almost impossible — unless you’re David the Dasher. Then you’ll find a way. He managed to tack on a dash even after he’d signed off.

P.S. — You don’t have to wait till the four days before Election Day to get involved. Visit your state page to find events happening near you.

This is the most uncalled for dash I’ve ever seen from David the Dasher. There should never be a punctuation mark between a P.S. and the first word in the sentence. That’s ludicrous.

Take a look at the memo’s opening.

Joe Sixpack –

John McCain keeps asking this question at his rallies — then he gives answers that are shockingly false and negative.

Colons are used after salutations in business letters. In less formal situations, such as emails, a comma works. A dash is never appropriate.

As to the second dash, the conjunction then should be preceded by a comma. If a longer pause is desired, break it into two sentences.

Here’s another troublesome stretch.

Millions of Americans have gotten to know Barack Obama as an American who’s devoted his life to things bigger than himself — his community, his country, and ordinary citizens looking for a voice.

Our challenge now is to do the same — to devote these last weeks to a cause bigger than ourselves.

In the first sentence, it’s OK to use a dash to set off the list of bigger things. Dashes are used for separation, termination, interruption and enclosure. (An example of enclosure follows.)

But when you’ve got a prepositional phrase — to devote these last weeks to a cause bigger than ourselves — you should use a colon. The purpose of a colon is to introduce or define something. A semicolon, on the other hand, is used to show that two clauses are related. A semicolon is less eventful; a colon prompts you to hold your breath for a nanosecond.

Harry Shaw offers a terrific description of the colon in his book Punctuate It Right!

The colon is a mark of expectation or addition. Its primary function is to signal the reader to watch for what’s coming. That is, it signals to the reader that the next group of words will fulfill what the last group promised.

See? Isn’t that wonderful? Unlike your ex-boyfriend, the colon fulfills a promise.