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Connecticut Senate candidate Dick Blumenthal has had a hell of a day, coming under intense media scrutiny for purportedly trumpeting a Vietnam War record that didn't exist. Blumenthal held a press conference today marginalizing the controversy as an issue of semantics. Blumenthal claims that he state he served "during" Vietnam, not "in" Vietnam. Marc Ambinder takes a long, hard look at the obvious problems with Blumenthals wordplay, but for the rest of the Twitterverse, a new meme is on the rise.
NBC's Chuck Todd sums up the confusion:
"In instead of during" -- Blumenthal clarification quote of the presser so far. How he says he defined "mis-spoken" words re: Vietnam
Matt Lewis marvels at the state of the news media:
Reporter: "What does misspeaking mean?"
Brian Beutler pokes fun at Blumenthal's costly gaffe:
"A bird during the hand is worth two during the bush." #blumenthalisms
Twitter users STLconservative gets in on the fun:
During God We Trust #blumenthalisms
Dave Weigel seeks to prove himself king of Twitter humor in three installments:
"Toto, we're not during Kansas anymore." #blumenthalisms
Best Peter Gabriel song? Definitely "During Your Eyes." #blumenthalisms
My favorite Truman Capote book is During Cold Blood. #blumenthalisms
Delrayser gets in on the fun...
I know how Blumenthal feels. I often say "Let's meet in the conference room" when I mean "during the conference room."
...but Dave Weigel affirms his status as not only a Twitter joke-ninja, but master of the art of the "Blumenthal defense"
BP now claims oil spill never happened: "The oil is not IN the water, it's DURING the water." #blumenthaldefense
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