Sarah Palin is running FOR vice president

Call me a word-emphasis-snob but Sarah Palin's tendency to put the emphasis on prepositions infuriates me (among a bazillion other things she does and says). For example, watch her interview with Katie Couric. Mrs. Palin says, "My understanding is Rick Davis recused himself FOR the dealings in that firm." Nails on a chalkboard. Geez.

One of the most basic rules in Speech 101 is the speaker should always emphasize the words in the sentence that are significant. That word is almost never the preposition. So rather than saying, "It cost me seventy dollars TO fill my tank," one should say, "It cost me SEVENTY DOLLARS to fill my TANK." The word TO has no editorial significance.

Mrs. Palin does not do this by accident. By emphasizing the word that doesn't have significance, she distracts the listener from realizing that she is saying nothing.