The Left Coast Moon: The Definition of Saw

For those of you who missed it, Mitterola has repetedly said that he saw his father march with Martin Luther King.

The only problem is that his father never did march with MLK.

Now Mittishka has come out with what can only be called a Clintonesque moment.
His defense?

"If you look at the literature or look at the dictionary, the term 'saw' includes being aware of -- in the sense I've described."

In other words, "It depends on the definition of the word: saw"

When this was not received well, he stomped his figurative feet and declared,

"I'm an English literature major"

Uh, yeah. Sure. Good for you, fella.

Well here at the Moon we are nothing if not fair; so without further ado, here are the 28 definitions of Saw (past tense of the verb "to see") found on Dictionary.com

see1 /si/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[see] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, saw, seen, see·ing.
–verb (used with object)

Ready?

1. to perceive with the eyes; look at.

Er... No, this doesn't work; Romney Sr. did not march with MLK, so it could not have been seen.

2. to view; visit or attend as a spectator: to see a play.

Same as point #1. it was not viewed. End of story.

3. to perceive by means of computer vision.

This one is quite funny (to me). Imagine the size of the computer of the day required for this to be a viable explanation?

4. to scan or view, esp. by electronic means: The satellite can see the entire southern half of the country.

See point #4

5. to perceive (things) mentally; discern; understand: to see the point of an argument.

This one is getting closer. He did not see his dad with MLK per se, but he understood that it would have been cool --and politically advantageous.

6. to construct a mental image of; visualize: He still saw his father as he was 25 years ago.

Good, it can be said that he constructed the mental image.

7. to accept or imagine or suppose as acceptable: I can't see him as president.

Please, no.

8. to be cognizant of; recognize: to see the good in others; to see where the mistake is.

Hmmm, I am starting to see where the mistake is.

9. to foresee: He could see war ahead.

How do you use the conjugation "saw" to mean foresee... let's call this one N/A

10. to ascertain, learn, or find out: See who is at the door.

This one again relies on fact. If they never marched together, they could not be seen together.

11. to have knowledge or experience of: to see service in the foreign corps.

I feel like I am repeating myself. If they never marched together, the requisite knowledge does not exist.

12. to make sure: See that the work is done.

The point of the statement was undoubtabley to make sure something was done, it was to plant the perception of greatness without regard for truth. It sounds good and is believable without relating to truth. It is truly truthy... er... it has a high truthiness factor... (I miss Colbert as well)

13. to meet and converse with: Are you seeing her at lunch today?

Again, even in past tense, this relies on actual facts not "figurative" ones.

14. to receive as a visitor: The ambassador finally saw him.

Er, no.

15. to visit: He's gone to see his aunt.

Not this one either...

16. to court, keep company with, or date frequently: They've been seeing each other for a long time.

As in, "He has been courting the truth for a while now, but it is not serious."

17. to provide aid or assistance to; take care of: He's seeing his brother through college.

N/A

18. to attend or escort: to see someone home.

A real stretch... The comment, if well received, could see him victorious... No, still not applicable.

19. Cards. to match (a bet) or match the bet of (a bettor) by staking an equal sum; call: I'll see your five and raise you five more.

Fun, but no.

20. to prefer (someone or something) to be as indicated (usually used as a mild oath): I'll see you in hell before I sell you this house. He'll see the business fail before he admits he's wrong.

This one strikes me as a bit funny. He'll use a bizarre parsing of a simple verb before he sees himself admit he fabricates stories for political advancement.

21. to read or read about: I saw it in the newspaper.

No, he didn't.

22. to have the power of sight.

N/A (well unless you mean in the religious sense... but is that good?)

23. to be capable of perceiving by means of computer vision.

See point #3

24. to understand intellectually or spiritually; have insight: Philosophy teaches us to see.

Ding, Ding, Ding, I think we have a winner. He understood, intellectually, that his father was with MKL in spirit. Er... is this really a justification for suggesting that you saw an event?

25. to give attention or care: See, there it goes.

Too easy.

26. to find out; make inquiry: Go and see for yourself.

Perhaps he should have.

27. to consider; think; deliberate: Let me see, how does that song go?

Think? Consider? Deliberate? Not likely, there are people to torture, wars to fight, money to spend.

28. to look about; observe: They heard the noise and came out to see.

It, quite simply, was never observed.

—Verb phrases

-- I have omitted these as there is no suggestion that a verb phrase was utilized.

Okay, my point... well, "humans are crazy" might be the best point that comes out of this. Who is crazy? Mitt? Well, maybe but he is the leading candidate in a campaign to preside over the US of A.

To quote Pogo, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Citation:

American Psychological Association (APA):

saw. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved December 21, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/saw

Chicago Manual Style (CMS):

saw. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/saw (accessed: December 21, 2007).