(Hillary and Chelsea under sniper fire while visiting Bosnia in 1996.)
Hillary Clinton claims she misspoke in describing her daring trip to Bosnia amid sniper fire in 1996 as first lady. Of course, Sen. Clinton's admission comes after CBS introduced video footage that suggested that the whole story was a fraud, a concoction. Clinton has consistently maintained that she has the requisite experience to assume the responsibilities as commander-in-chief on day one, and the Bosnia trip was held up as emblematic of that experience. But misspoke is not the appropriate word. Sen. Clinton did not misspeak, she misstated. There is a distinction between the two words, and the distinction matters. To misspeak means to state incorrectly with no intent to deceive or mislead. Misstate, in contrast, means to state wrongly or falsely, and suggests a willfulness to mislead or deceive. Her original story reminds me of her husband's propensity to play fast and loose with the truth: inhaling marijuana, depends on what is is, and I did not have sexual relations with that lady.
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