On The Overuse Of “It Would Appear”

“It would appear” that this particular verbal tic is rapidly becoming the most obnoxious schoolmarmish finger-wagging-sounding phrase-crutch in the mayor’s verbal arsenal:

Bloomberg said [that] Sullenberger’s actions will not be forgotten any time soon.

“It would appear the pilot did a masterful job. He walked the plane twice after everyone else got off. A passenger said he was the last one up the aisle and that there was no one behind him,” Bloomberg said. “This pilot did a wonderful job and it would appear that all 155 got out safely.”

Um, it would appear the pilot did a masterful job? How about, “Fuck yeah, the pilot did a masterful job!”? And why bother with the conditional “would” in the first place? Isn’t “it appears that all 155 got out safely” basically the same thing?

Or is there something about the conditional that particularly suits this mayor?