Who Are We to Believe, the President or George's Lying Dictionary?

In a discussion that centers on the meaning of the word "tax" President Obama tells us that relying on the definition listed by Merriam-Webster is "stretching." Instead, we should just accept his position: the dictionary is wrong, let's move on.

Here is the video. Below it is the transcript, which begins at about :52, courtesy of ABC News.



The argument between George Stephanopoulos and President Obama, over whether the requirement that every person in America must purchase government-approved insurance or pay a fine, has just begun.

The incoherence is in the original. I presume Mr. Obama's telepromtors had the day off.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That may be, but it's still a tax increase.

OBAMA: No. That's not true, George. The… ­for us to say that you've got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase. What it's saying is, is that we're not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore than the fact that… right now everybody in America, just about, has to get auto insurance. Nobody considers that a tax increase. People say to themselves, that is a fair way to make sure that if you hit my car, that I'm not covering all the costs.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But it may be fair, it may be good public policy...

OBAMA: No, but… but, George, you… you can't just make up that language and decide that that's called a tax increase. Any...

STEPHANOPOULOS: Here's the...

OBAMA: What… what… if I… if I say that right now your premiums are going to be going up by 5 or 8 or 10 percent next year and you say… well, that's not a tax increase; but, on the other hand, if I say that I don't want to have to pay for you not carrying coverage even after I give you tax credits that make it affordable, then...

STEPHANOPOULOS: I… I don't think I'm making it up. Merriam Webster's Dictionary: Tax…"a charge, usually of money, imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes."

OBAMA: George, the fact that you looked up Merriam's Dictionary, the… definition of tax increase, indicates to me that you're stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to the… dictionary to check on the definition. I mean what...

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, no, but...

OBAMA: ...what you're saying is...

STEPHANOPOULOS: I wanted to check for myself. But your critics say it is a tax increase.

OBAMA: My critics say everything is a tax increase. My critics say that I'm taking over every sector of the economy. You know that.

It is eerily similar to the finger-wagging lecture by Bill Clinton, also over a definition, in his case the meaning of "is."

In this instance, George has armed himself against potential Presidential dissembling or overly aggressive wordsmithing by bring along one of the country's most respected dictionaries and quoting from its first listed meaning of the word in question.

Relying on the dictionary's definition is stretching, Mr. President?

Well, I suppose it depends on the meaning of the word dictionary...

Nothing to see here, folks, just move along...