READ MY LIPS

phrase (Politics) In US politics, a catch-phrase promoted during the Republican presidential campaign of George Bush to emphasize commitment to lower taxes; also sometimes used as an adjectival phrase to refer to the tax policy of his administration or to its policies in general. Etymology: The phrase comes from Mr Bush's speech to the Republican Party convention in New Orleans in August 1988: Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I'll say no, and they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again, and I'll say to them 'Read my lips: no new taxes'. During the election campaign that followed this was repeated to reporters and questioners as read my lips followed by the silently mouthed words 'no new taxes'. The phrase itself is, of course, older than this in other contexts; the imagery is that of someone talking to a deaf person, or of a parent emphasizing something to a child and urging visual as well as aural concentration on what is said, the equivalent of 'I really mean this'--or even the television catch-phrase 'I will say this only once'. There is also sometimes a suggestion that what follows read my lips represents a sub-text, a deeper meaning or message that can only be mouthed and not spoken aloud. In these broader uses the phrase read my lips was well known by the time Mr Bush used it at the convention (it had even been the title of a rock-music album). History and Usage: So often did Mr Bush use the technique described above during the election campaign that it became a hallmark of his promised policies, so that the phrase read my lips alone became enough to signify a promise of no new taxes during his presidency. It also became a yardstick by which the American public could measure his administration and assess once and for all the reliability of election promises. It appears the 'read my lips' President is simply giving lip service to his environmental concerns. Philadelphia Inquirer 20 Sept. 1989, section A, p. 16 Sen. Phil Gramm,...aiming to rescue the administration's 'read my lips' strategy, plans an alternative amendment. Washington Post 1 Oct. 1989, section D, p. 7 Truth caught up with Mr Bush last week when he tiptoed into Congress and agreed, no doubt with everyone reading his lips, to raise $25 bn in new taxes. Punch 13 July 1990, p. 20