Final "my friends" count, and something else I noticed about his use of it.

[Kat45]

Unless I zoned out and missed any, I counted 17--13 plural and 4 singular. And I noticed something curious about his use of the word: once he got to the foreign policy portion of the forum, he hardly used the words at all. He only used it twice then, and both times was a singular "my friend" said directly to a veteran who had asked a question. It seemed like he didn't use it when he was in his 'comfort zone.' Is it some kind of crutch or filler? Or something else?

[LuckyLib]

1. It's his version of "you know" -- it extends his language, gives him time to think.

He needs every second he can get to get that mind in gear.

[Kat45]

3. That makes sense. Plus it lets him "personalize" things.

[Canuckistanian]

2. It's like Rush's use of the word "folks"

Whenever you hear it, you know it's going to be followed by a huge lie.