This rhetorical padding is used by countless politicians and, it seems, nearly everyone interviewed or quoted in the news, from President Obama on down:
“…going forward…”
and its variant,
“…moving forward…”
Take it out of virtually any sentence and you will lose no meaning. Example:
“The administration will keep a close watch on this, moving forward.”
Getting rid of “moving forward;” now, that would be moving forward.
Of course, properly used, the phrase can be a source of inspiration…or amusement.
If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself—
Henry Ford
Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game—
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
We will move forward, we will move upward, and yes, we will move onward—
Dan Quayle
