Barack Obama does it. So does Sarah Palin. On the national stage before millions of TV viewers. I think it’s time t’make it official. The word “to” has become an apostrophe’d “tuh.” Americans should have t’spell it that way if we’re going t’let our most prominent panderers put it forth in speeches for our schoolchildren t’emulate. Murcan, as some linguists call it, differentiates itself from British English by adapting common usage, taking the shtreet most traveled, basically. Americans consider it a shtrength t’be unshod mustangs, uh, mavericks.

Obama also contracts “y’know” to a back of the throat extreme I can’t even spell. “Yghn?” is how he prefaces every informal aside. He seems to rely on “you know” like teenagers use “like.” But is it an affectation meant to make him seem more pedestrian?

On the other hand, Sarah Palin shows herself to be the poor-mannered plain girl with “ya know” and ceaseless, unadorned YAs. “Ya gotta” love it apparently.