Hillary Clinton released a letter today urging Barack Obama to work toward resolving the Michigan and Florida delegate problem. In the second paragraph she states, "I have consistently said that the votes cast in Florida and Michigan in January should be counted." At first, her obvious factual inconsistency left me scratching my head - then everything became clear.
As we all know, Hillary Clinton has not always said Florida and Michigan should be counted. There is no doubt she agreed to support the National Democratic Committee's decision and its impact when it was first announced.
But then I realized - "consistently" does not mean 100% of the time. According to Dictionary.com, it means, "holding firmly together; cohering." So if your name is Mary for 34 years but one day you decide to stand on a busy street corner and introduce yourself as Jane all morning then, at the end of the day, you can state, "I have consistently called myself Jane."
So Hillary isn't lying when she says "I have consistently said that the votes cast in Florida and Michigan in January should be counted." She has consistently said that - ever since it proved to be politically expedient. But make no mistake - Hillary Clinton has not ALWAYS said that.
The same argument can be made for her comments regarding NAFTA. During a debate, she stated, "I have spoken consistently against NAFTA and the way its been implemented." Now, of course, we all know that she has publicly supported it - particularly while her husband was president. But again, just because she says she has said it CONSISTENTLY does not mean she has said it ALWAYS.
In truth, I'm conflicted even posting this. After all, we are supposed to be in reconciliation mode now - no beating up on the other side. I get it. But she is still running, she did choose to release this letter publicly, and I truly abhor these old-style word manipulations in which politicians ask "depends on what your definition is is."