Almost twenty years ago, American philologists were treated to an amazing statement in the political realm: then-President Bill Clinton answered a question with the words “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” As shocking as that statement was in context, coming from a leading Democrat, it was also something of a Freudian slip, as Bill Clinton gave away quite a secret in that brief moment. While it can be honestly said that all politicians may exaggerate occasionally, and all politicians may have different takes on the rightness or wrongness of a position, or on the success...