Talk:Gravitas

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Removing the following sentence from the article because it seems unlikely to be pertinent and is unsourced:

It was popularized by the media during the summer of 2000, to contrast the Republican Party candidate, George W. Bush and Al Gore, the Democratic Party candidate.

--Tabor 23:09, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

I'd argue about "pertinence", since the usage is not common and was "reintroduced" this way. It would be valuable for many purposes (historical, linguistic, etc). But if it has no clear source, this would have to be solved first. The thing is, the article is pretty vague so far (of course it's a stub). It mentions "a sense of substance or depth". Due to... (cause)? How does it show (consequence)? And a clear example would fit fine. I don't add any of those cause I came here to ask and know more, not to answer, unfortunately... (Anonymous)

dude. if you think "used occasionally" is the same as "reintroduced", you got problems. that sentence is totally pointlessly trivial. (anon)

"Gravitas should not be confused with gravity, the force of attraction between masses." - this is almost as silly as "Gravitas should not be confused with gravy, a thickened meat sauce". How about "Gravitas should not be confused with gravity in the sense of formidable and serious, but they have a common etymology of weightiness"? In fact, if I come back in a year and that sentence is still there, I'm replacing it with the gravy line. (same anon)

Keifer Sutherland said 'Gravitas' was his favortite word on Inside the Actors Studio

I saved you the trouble of replacing the gravity-line with the gravy-line ;)

[edit] Gravitas as a political reference

It is true that the term gravitas was used (perhaps over-used) during the 2000 U.S. presidential campaign; I found 3 sources that supported this view and I cited them. I can find more, if anyone believes more would be needed or helpful. ProfessorPaul 06:45, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gravitas usage in 2000

The term gravitas clearly came into usage during the 2000 campaign. A sound bite montage of U.S. pols spouting gravitas over and over received frequent airplay on the Rush Limbaugh radio program.

Jessemckay 14:54, 26 March 2007 (UTC)