Weasel Words

Time was the GOP loved to berate the Clinton administration for the legal language and phrase parsing that characterized their public statements. But you know what? At the same time they were criticizing they were learning too. And they're pretty good at it too.

Mary Matalin provides the most recent legally precise denial of wrong doing. Concerning Dick Cheney's involvement in awarding contracts to Halliburton she says:

"The vice president had no operational involvement with letting of any contracts."

Operational is the key word. Let me translate what Ms. Matalin is really saying:

Sure, Dick was involved with awarding contracts to his cronies. But he wasn't involved on a regular, operational basis.

Thankfully, as I've noted before, these lies don't require investigation because they concern only such petty things as corruption, extortion, graft, and conspiracy. I'm comforted, however, with the knowledge that the GOP Congress will leap into action when Dick is alleged to have cheated on Lynne. That would be a betrayal of the public trust.