“Experts Say White House 'Misrepresented' Views to Justify Drilling Moratorium [June 11, 2010]”
“The seven experts who advised President Obama on how to deal with offshore drilling safety after the Deepwater Horizon explosion are accusing his administration of misrepresenting their views to make it appear that they supported a six-month drilling moratorium -- something they actually oppose.
The experts, recommended by the National Academy of Engineering, say Interior Secretary Ken Salazar modified their report last month, after they signed it, to include two paragraphs calling for the moratorium on existing drilling and new permits.”
– Reference (1) at bottom.
Candor: 1) Ability to make judgments free from discrimination or dishonesty; 2) The quality of being honest and straightforward in attitude and speech.
Synonyms for Candor: directness, forthrightness, frankness.
Metaphors for Candor: "Tell it like it is," "Call a spade a spade," "Tell How the cow eats the cabbage."
My comments above on candor are not directed at the Obama administration; Team Obama is beyond help, they need much stronger admonition--removal from public office--since they obviously have no operative concept of candor, honesty, or integrity—they are too steeped in Chicago, Alinskyite thuggery.
My comments are directed at the title of the article referenced at top. Specifically at the word "misrepresented."
Why, after such numerous demonstrations of his willingness to use any available forum for political deceit do honest-speakers still "beat around the bush" while liberals “beat up Bush” and cheer Obama as he and his minions continue non-stop to flat-out LIE about any and all political issues? Joe Wilson spoke the words to Obama, at a joint session of Congress, with absolute precision, "You lie!" My only disappointment with Joe is that he later apologized, for a breach of congressional protocol. Joe shouldn't have apologized. The protocol was being used by the pathologically-deceitful Obama to officially read his lies, from TOTUS, unchallenged. Joe was 100 percent correct, Obama was lying, as he so often has done, about Obamacare.
I am so tired of all the euphemisms currently used in public discourse as a softener for the honest word lie. "Misrepresented", "misspoke", "misstated", "taken out of context", "has to be walked back", "a speech writer error", etc.
Is it satisfactory to describe the addition of two, unapproved paragraphs in an official report as simply "misrepresented."? What does this statement from Obama's Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, sound like to you: "The experts who are involved in crafting the report gave us their recommendation and their input and I very much appreciate those recommendations," he said. "It was not their decision on the moratorium. It was my decision and the president's decision to move forward.
[Jerry's translation: "It was my decision and the president's decision to lie."]
Yes, yes, I know the panel of seven experts simply couldn't use a term as offensive as lie. And yes, I know that the use of the word “misrepresented” provides a characterization that does not challenge motive. That is my point. With dishonesty, not good-faith mistakes, motive needs to be exposed and challenged. I believe there are times, that accuracy, honesty, and candor demand offending offensive people, people who continually, with no apparent remorse, violate simple rules of integrity, such as telling the truth, when speaking or when writing.
But even if a person finds the term lie too confrontational, or too presumptuous, or considers it inappropriate for the circumstance (as the seven experts undoubtedly did in this case), does the term have to be such a euphemistically restrained one, "misrepresented"?
Misrepresented could simply be a mistake. No way in this case. It was no mistake, the action was completely intentional. No way can the addition of two extra paragraphs in an official, technical, report be just an error. So, couldn't the word used to describe this arrogant surreptitious-textual-insertion at least be a word with a bit of chutzpah, such as falsehood, fabrication, or prevarication?
Yes. If you can't tolerate the word lie, try using the word prevarication. Falsehood or Fabrication also works. Fabrication accurately describes most of the verbiage, spewing-out on a daily basis, from Team Obama. Funny thing though, advocates of clear communication usually advise using a simpler word rather than a more complex one, if two words mean essentially the same thing.
FOOTNOTES:
(1) Experts Say White House 'Misrepresented' Views to Justify Drilling Moratorium
