Rumsfeld Knows No Mojo
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday he does not know whether or not he has lost his mojo, as a leading news magazine suggested, because he doesn’t really know what mojo is.
“Is Rumsfeld Losing His Mojo?†was the headline in Time magazine above a story about Rumsfeld’s recent difficulties concerning Iraq policy and differences with U.S. lawmakers.
“Have you lost your mojo?†a reporter asked Rumsfeld during a Pentagon briefing.
Rumsfeld said he did not consult a dictionary -- as he has for words including “slog,†about which he has sparred with reporters -- but he spoke with an aide who had.
“And they asked me that, and I said, ‘I don’t know what it means.’ And they said, ‘In 1926 or something, it had to do with jazz music.’ â€
Rumsfeld added, “And I guess the answer is that beauty’s in the eye of the beholder. I don’t know enough about mojo to know.â€
The Webster’s New World Dictionary defines mojo as “a charm or amulet thought to have magic powers,†or “power, luck, etc., as of magical or supernatural origin.â€
The word is thought to be of Creole origin.
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