Watergate-era 'non-denial denial' is back in fashion

[DonViejo]

BY JOEL COHEN AND DALE J. DEGENSHEIN, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 12/03/17 11:20 AM EST 9 THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

It’s back in full force. The non-denial denial. It is the kind of statement that seems clear and direct in countering allegations, but on careful review turns out not to say much at all. This kind of statement leaves wiggle room, meaning it wouldn’t be explicitly false if the allegations being denied are in fact true.

The phrase is credited to Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, who coined the term as the White House responded to allegations about the Watergate break-in in the early 1970s. It was brought into the common lexicon in the movie of that era, “All The President’s Men”, in a scene where Jason Robards (playing Bradlee) characterized for Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein the Nixon administration’s evasive answers.

Concrete examples of the past: “I am not a crook,” said Richard Nixon. True perhaps in his mind, but those doing his bidding certainly were. And needless to say, that (catch)phrase never actually responded to the questions being asked by the press or the public. Or take President Bill Clinton: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” It depends on what you consider “sexual relations,” doesn’t it?

And so we bring it to the present day in the form of Roy Moore. His “responses” to innumerable allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and others have been classic (and even predictable): The allegations were “unsubstantiated,” ”unproven” and “fake.” In other words, he said nothing. He also, in an interview with Sean Hannity, left open the possibility that, as the women alleged, he had in fact molested them, saying he did not “generally” date girls 15 years younger than him, and adding “I'm not going to dispute anything but I don't remember anything like that.”

more
http://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/362851-watergate-era-non-denial-denial-is-back-in-fashion

[L. Coyote]

1. Remember AG Gonzolies? A parse-lie is not a real lie, it is just a florid string of crap ...

A parse-lie is not a real lie, it is just a florid string of crap that makes one believe something not said.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x907626

When Boston Globe reporter Bill Cardoso read Hunter Thompson's "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved" he proclaimed "That is pure Gonzo!" Cardoso used the South Boston Irish slang describing the last man standing after a drinking marathon.

"Gonzolies" is the English neologism describing the last man standing after a lying match.

"Gonzo journalism" refers to when an author cannot remove himself from the subject he investigates, often referring to a style of writing a story as perceived in the moment in the mind of the writer. Thompson believed objectivity in journalism was pure myth.