Taking Bush Serious(ly)

[Steve Boatti]

Matthew Gordon writes:
"Isn't this an object complement structure (or isn't it analyzable as such)? i.e. 'taking it (to be) serious'"

I don't think so. You are assuming "take" in this context means "consider." I believe that in the idiom "to take something seriously", "take" means "to deal with." This is among the word's many meanings in standard dictionaries (e.g., to take something in stride). Indeed, Webster's New World, as an example for the "deal with" meaning, uses "to take a matter seriously."

Steve Boatti