Obama's use of 'unprecedented' chided

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The Obama White House's use of the word "unprecedented" may itself be unprecedented, the Washington publication Politico reported Wednesday.

President Barack Obama began his term using the term in his first weekly radio and Internet address, saying, "We begin this year and this administration in the midst of an unprecedented crisis that calls for unprecedented action."

Since then, the publication says, the White House issued "declaration after declaration of 'unprecedented' milestones," some of which, Politico asserted, are "legitimate firsts," such as his May online town hall at the White House.

But others are merely technicalities while some "clearly already have precedents," it said.

Former aides to President George W. Bush have expressed annoyance with Obama's use of the term "unprecedented," such as the administration's use of it to describe the president's town hall meeting in China this month.

"I think I attended a town hall with President Bush in China," former Bush adviser Karen Hughes, told the publication. "I thought: Were they asleep? Or were they dreaming? I remember standing and watching President Bush engage in a town hall that I believe was televised."