A loyal and erudite Campaign Standard reader has figured out what’s going on with the Clinton campaign. He writes: “I know you’re a big fan of words – if you don’t have this one on your list, you should: ‘paralipsis,’ alternately spelled ‘paraleipsis.’ It means raising an issue by saying you’re not raising it.” Here’s Wikipedia’s definition. It’s an excellent rhetorical device, one I was reminded of last week while reading Mark Penn’s comment about Obama and cocaine. Even after seeking to play down Bill Shaheen’s comments about Obama’s admitted past drug use – “It’ll be, ‘When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?'” – Mark Penn, Clinton’s chief strategist, used the word “cocaine” in a television appearance last Thursday. Obama officials seized on it as evidence that the Clinton team was intentionally trying to associate Obama with drug use. “The issue related to cocaine use is not something the campaign is in any way raising,” Penn said on MSNBC’s Hardball.
