Joe 'You Lie' Wilson: 'I actually had to look up what “dithering” meant.'

[Are_grits_groceries]

In a speech last month to the Center for Security Policy, Vice President Cheney criticized President Obama on Afghanistan, saying he was “dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger.” The Hill notes that an interview yesterday with WorldNetDaily radio, Rep. Joe “You lie!” Wilson (R-SC) said that he agreed with Cheney’s assessment — but only after he looked up Cheney’s big word in a dictionary:

You know, I’m really disappointed, and I actually agree with Vice President Cheney that the President is dithering. And I actually had to look up what “dithering” meant, and it’s “indecisive.” And that’s what the President is being.

http://thinkprogress.org/

Joe Wilson is a simpleton. It has 3 syllables so I guess joe will look that up in his 3-Syllable Word Dictionary.

[provis99]

1. At least he actually cared enough to look it up.

Most of those Republican morons in Congress would be using it in sentences without having a clue what it meant.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. How on earth can an adult with a BA and a JD NOT know what dithering means?

This speaks well of his intellect, doesn't it?

[Are_grits_groceries]

3. He went to Washington and Lee.

How did he get out of there?

U of SC Law I understand. He just had to have the full set of crayolas.:P (Clemson here as if you couldn't guess)

[Walk away]

4. It rhymes with "Blithering" Idiot! People must call him that all of the time..

now that he knows what Dithering means he can write a little poem about himself!

[Are_grits_groceries]

5. He'll have to buy a rhyming dictionary now.

That will double his library.

[Igel]

6. So now I'm curious.

As to how "dither" went from "being irresolute" to "adjusting pixel darkness/color to avoid sharp intensity or color changes."

Is it about avoiding a sharp decision or contrast?

As for not knowing a word's meaning, I had the same reaction some have towards Wilson's lexical lacuna as I did when people misconstrued "stay the course" with "course" having some sort of navigational meaning instead of what it meant in that phrase--a preset path run during a race. (I pictured them in the stands at the local track yelling, "Change the course! Change the course! You, Earnhardt--cut through Concessions!" or "Cigar--quick, through the stands!").

Personally, I had a bit of a comeuppance when I needed to replace a fluorescent bulb and the instructions--in tortured English--said to use a bulb with a ballast. Well, I only knew the nautical meaning and assumed that the very much non-native speakers of English who produced the instructions had looked up their native vocable in a bilingual dictionary only to find that it had several translations--and unerringly chose the wrong one. I finally considered the possibility that I was, indeed, not omniscient and opted to show due humility by consulting a dictionary. There I found that a ballast is also an electrical bit for maintaining a constant current and usually getting the fluorescent bulb going in the first place.

[underseasurveyor]

7. Well Joe (you lie) Wilson is a Blithering idiot

[berni_mccoy]

8. The Right Loves Teh Stupid.

[Toasterlad]

9. That's the Kind of Guy I'd Like to Have a Beer With.

A fucking idiot.