It's official:  the Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, is now referred to as the Republican Leader, thanks to Senator Robert Byrd of Virginia, who apparently decreed that the terms “Minority” and “Majority” would no longer be used once he found himself in the minority. 

It suits the Republican Leader just fine.  He’s all about the mask.  He’s one of those classic Southern gentlemen, with a courtly mien and a generous dose of Southern charm – the kind that smile at you, never raise their voices, and slip the knife between your ribs as effortlessly as butter melting on hot grits. 

That tight control over emotional display has some interesting effects on his speaking style and performance.  McConnell has developed a speaking tic, a slight cough that shows up in virtually every phrase.  I suspect he’s acquired it over the years from the habit of swallowing his voice and speaking without adequate breath support.  His voice comes from the bottom of his vocal range, and rarely rises above that (for him) low register.  As a result, it’s pure gravel – like pitchblende being crushed under an old-time miner’s drill. 

The swallowed voice and restricted vocal range limit McConnell’s charisma and emotional expressiveness.  For speakers, the rule is ironclad – you are what you can vocalize.  Someone as vocally restricted as McConnell simply cannot express the emotional range of a speaker like, say, Barack Obama, or Joe Biden.

In a very real sense, it’s the voice of another era and another world – a voice of quiet power and backroom deals.  It’s not a speaking style or instrument for the Internet Era. 

To be sure, with a little daily work, McConnell could learn to support his voice and in time the damage to his vocal chords might well heal.  But I suspect he’s quite happy with his style just as it is:  Southern school, with a hint of old-fashioned politicking sauce on top.  As outdated as it is, it’s still working for him as happily as a red wattle pig in a mud puddle.