Editing 1661: Podium

{{comic
| number    = 1661
| date      = March 28, 2016
| title     = Podium
| image     = podium.png
| titletext = BREAKING: Senator's bold pro-podium stand leads to primary challenge from prescriptivist base.
}}

==Explanation==
A "{{w|podium}}" is a small platform like the one [[Cueball]] is standing '''on'''. This word originates from Greek ''podion'' meaning ''foot''.

A "{{w|lectern}}" is a stand for holding notes, like the one Cueball standing '''behind'''. In American English this stand may be also called a ''podium'', which is not backed up by etymology. See [http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/podium podium] and [http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/lectern lectern] in Oxford Learners Dictionaries. In medieval universities, the "lecturer" was not someone who gave talks, but literally one who read from the lectern, the latin root meaning "To read" - Lectio.

The comic is playing on a stereotypical politician, without any real beliefs, here represented by Cueball, but they want to appear to stand for something.  Alternatively, this is what might happen if someone like Cueball (or the strip's author [[Randall]]), who tend to think literally and who get interested in and distracted by tangents, were running.

Thus, Cueball picks up what is, in some American circles, an argument: whether the standing desk used by public speakers should be called a "podium" or a "lectern." This argument is actually [http://www.messagemasters.squarespace.com/articles/what-is-a-lectern-or-podium.html common] among [http://mannerofspeaking.org/2012/03/10/podium-vs-lectern/ members] of {{w|Toastmasters International}} (see more [http://joyfulpublicspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-should-we-call-stage-furniture-on.html here]), though it would usually not rise to the level of needing to be part of a national discourse. And it is not only the Toastmasters that [http://www.platformgiant.com/podium-vs-lectern care about this].

The fact is, though the etymological definition is clear - the lectern is the desk that stands on the podium - and while the difference might be important if you were setting up an auditorium, in common American usage, it doesn't really matter.

The title text is presented as a breaking news that implies that a senator has taken a bold stand on the subject of podium vs. lectern (presumably Cueball, although it could also be someone else who has been rallied by Cueball's speech). The senator is pro- podium, meaning that he thinks the lectern should be called a podium.  This leads to the people who follow a prescriptivist position to organize and put forward a political candidate to challenge this senator in the {{w|primaries}}.

The {{w|Linguistic prescription|prescriptivist}} position relies on rules rather than on usage. In this case a prescriptivist relies on etymology and would thus be pro-lectern. In the U.S., the primaries are used to select a single candidate from a particular party to represent that party at final election (whether national or on a state level). At the time of this comics release (2016-03-28) the {{w|United States presidential primary}} elections to determine the candidates for the {{w|United States presidential election, 2016}} was in full progress and not at all determined yet.

The title text is also a pun, as 'stand' is another word for an object like a lectern (e.g. as used by musicians to hold sheet music), and 'base' a word for something a stand or lectern might be placed on, as is a podium.

It is unclear from this comic which position Randall favors. He likes that rules are followed, but he also like that it is easy to talk with people, especially friends. This was recently displayed in [[1643: Degrees]], see especially the last "benefits" in the third panel.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is speaking at a lectern standing on a podium.]
:Cueball: The American people are tired of politics as usual.
:Cueball: They're tired of-
:Cueball: Okay, brief tangent: is this thing a podium or a lectern? People say "podium" is wrong, but I also see it used that way in pretty formal contexts. Is usage just changing?
:Cueball: If elected, I will get to the bottom of this for once and for all.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Public speaking]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Language]]