Hi BB,

I think Don Firth is exactly right. I have seen no other article that claims that she denied "un-American," just "un-American activities," which is an emotionally loaded phrase. Since this is asserted by CNN with no source quoted, we can assume there was no source to quote; in other words they were reporting "scuttlebutt." I don't treat that the same as a sourced quote by an eyewitness.

In response to the Groucho criterion introduced by LarryK, then, we can believe our own eyes and still not believe she lied because the confrontation has only been reported as scuttlebutt. We know she said "un-American traits," but have no firm evidence that she denied it.

Finally, attempting to compare her to Cheney for "shove it" is ridiculous on three counts. First of all, "shove it" is not in itself a "dirty word"; it's the kind of thing you can say, for instance, on basic cable TV. "Go Fuck Yourself" would be censored out. Second, she is not an officeholder or even a candidate. So who cares if she says "shove it?" Finally, she said it to a tabloid reporter in the hall of a hotel; he said it to a US Senator on the floor of the US Senate.

I should say personally i don't really care about Cheney saying what he said either. But let's not compare apples and oranges.