# 1. CNN Reporting on the Clinton-Lewinski Affair
Watching a program called "Burden of Proof," on CNN, Roger Cossack, one of the hosts of the program, made a slip of the tongue or speech error. In talking about President Clinton testifying before a grand jury, he meant to say that it was "unprecedented," but he slipped and clearly began to say, "unPresidented." Linguists would say that this is caused by confusing the similar sound and spelling of the two words which interfere with each other. Look closely at the spelling of "unprecedented," and "unPresidented." This not a meaningless speech error caused by the similar sound of the two words.
Linguists would explanation of this slip as simply caused by the similar sound and spelling of the two words being confused and interfering with each other, indicating no hidden meaning. Looking closely at the spelling of "unprecedented," and "unPresidented," they both begin with "unpre......", which is followed by either the consonant "s" or "c" which can be similarly pronounced. These letters are then followed by the two vowels, "i" and "e" which also can be pronounced similarly. Finally they end identically with ".......dented." But this not a meaningless speech error caused by the similar sound of the two words. The slip has meaning. An analysis of the linguistic mechanisms involved may explain the how, but it doesn't explain the why of the slip. To understand the why we have to understand the context of the slip.
The context of the CNN program, as well as previous programs, was about the possible impeachment of Clinton because of charges of purgery. The slip "unPresidented" in this case refers to being removed from his office or impeached, that is, un-Presidented, as in being "unseated," or coming "unhinged." The slip may reflect Cossack's feeling that Clinton being called before a Grand Jury is not only unprecedented as in the adjectival form but "un precedential." In other words not only is a President being called before the Grand Jury, unprecedential but so are the sexual charges being investigated unprecedential. Clinton's behaviors in the workplace, if true, are thus both unprecedential and un-presidential.
Without access to the personal views of Roger Cossack, however, there is no way of responsibly assessing the deeper subliteral motivations of this slip, i.e., whether Mr. Cossack presumably believes that Clinton should be impeached as the result of the scandal, or whether the slip means that he thinks Clinton will or might be impeached. To play around with sounds and words is not just to "play with words;" it's to explore the depths of language in all of its linguistic complexity. Indeed, it's to create language and meaning.
# 2. CNN Reporting on the Clinton-Lewinski Affair
Wolf Blitzer reported that President Clinton's team of lawyers was about to launch an attack on Ken Starr's grand jury report that Clinton's lied about his affair with a young White House intern. Wolf meant to say that Clinton's team was about to go on the offensive against the material in the report, but he slipped and said they were about to engage in offenses. Is this just a simple slip of the tongue, or is it a slip of the mind? I suggest it's the latter. Given the continuous reportage of Clinton's alleged sexual behavior that many people find offensive, Wolf s slip was perhaps clear about what he was really thinking about Clinton's behavior. They were offenses that were offensive. Wolf, of course, immediately caught what he had really said.
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