News

John Oliver On Wolf Blitzer And "Obviously"

by Joseph D. Lyons

One thing you can count on John Oliver to do is cut out the bullshit. He does so every week on Last Week Tonight, on topics from Trump to regifting. With Wolf Blitzer, though, there's something even Oliver — or his talented team of video editors — can't get rid of. What, you might ask? That would be the word "obviously."

Why? Obviously because even in The Situation Room , you need a qualifier. Just one. No "clearly," "apparently," and "evidently," you're good. "Obviously" will do just fine. "Surely," "undoubtedly," "visibly," you won't be needed either. "Obviously" is where it's at for the 26-year CNN veteran.

Think I'm wrong? Oliver and the Last Week Tonight team proved it in all of 45 seconds Sunday night. Among the things that are obvious? Getting Ebola is concerning, Hillary Clinton prefers polling ahead of Bernie Sanders, MERS is terrifying, and Nazis aren't appropriate. That is all true — obviously. Don't get near dangerous escaped inmates either.

So what is it about this word? "In a way that is easily perceived or understood; clearly" reads the Google definition. Merriam-Webster adds that it is "used to emphasize that you are talking about something that is easy to see, understand, or recognize." Maybe for Blitzer it's a way to talk down to the cable news audience. If these things truly were obvious, he wouldn't be telling three-quarters of a million people about them.

Any teenager would totally get that. What better way than to make a dig at the parentals than throwing in an unnecessary adjective (with just the right amount of audible sarcasm, of course). So the next time something obvious pops up on CNN, know that Blitzer might be messing with you. Or he just can't come up with anything else to say, à la "Mitt Romney, obviously, is a Mormon." Yes he is, Wolf.