It's the Truth - Really!

Imagine that a man declares, "I have never robbed a bank". But let's suppose that while the man had never robbed a bank, the man had robbed a credit union. The man's statement is still technically true, even though the man is clearly trying to convey a false impression.

Many of the Bush administration officials have been giving speeches this week defending the legality of certain government actions. When reading the transcript of one of these speeches, I came across the same kind of situation I just described. The official made a statement that was technically true, but was carefully constructed to make the listener believe something else. I have to admit that the wording was extremely clever.

I guess it all depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.