In reply to:

Could it be an intentional thing based on regionalism? After all, they're depending on the whim of voters from back home, who tend to, like, talk the same way.


Well that could be the case. There's definitely an anti-intellectual tradition in the U.S. and politicians don't want to come off as "eggheads." Even Bill Clinton, who was a Rhoades Scholar, played up an image of a good ol' boy, and the press was happy to help. I think Americans in general like a politician who comes across as strong, smart but not too fancy-schmancy, a cut-the-bullcrap sort of person. I'm not English, so I can't speak for them, but I think they might appreciate fine oration more than we do on this side of the pond. Winston Churchill, for example, could talk real good...