me vs. myself

John Edwards’ word choice in last night’s Nightline interview reflected a lack of responsibility, an indirect, almost out-of-body view of this “mistake.”

For example, the former senator told Bob Woodruff: “I think that my family is entitled to every detail. They’ve been told every detail. Elizabeth knows absolutely everything.”

Notice Edwards didn’t take ownership with an active voice, “I told my family every detail,” but rather, used a passive verb, “they have been told every detail.”

Perhaps the most telling use of passive voice came when Edwards fawned over St. Elizabeth. “And the fact that she is with me after this having happened is a testament to the kind of woman and the kind of human being she is.”

The active voice that your high-school English teacher urged you to use would be: “And the fact that she is still with me after I did this is a testament to the kind of woman and the kind of human being she is.” To describe “this” — a glossed-over pronoun for affair — “having happened” poises Edwards as the hostage of an outside crime, as if someone held a gun to his head and insisted he have sex with Rielle Hunter.

Edwards again demonstrated an out-of-body view when he described his relationship with his wife. He said, “There is a deep and abiding love that exists between Elizabeth and myself.” This remark vexed cynics and grammarians alike. Myself is a reflexive pronoun. It only works when you are the object of an action and when you appear as the subject of the same sentence. For example: “I see myself in the mirror” or “I am going to treat myself to a pedicure.” The same rule applies to other reflexive pronouns, such as himself, herself, yourself, ourselves. For example: “We see ourselves as the national guard of proper grammar.”

There is nothing reflexive about the love between man and wife; Edwards should’ve said there is an abiding love “between Elizabeth and me.” Unless, of course, Edwards loved himself, which may explain how he got himself into this bedside brouhaha.