Words matter, but they can be twisted, too, especially when Elise Stefanik is involved

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5 in Washington. Three academics, during a hearing on antisemitism, allowed themselves to be sandbagged by Stefanik, columnist Gene Lyons writes. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Watching coverage of The Three Equivocating Presidents on TV — that is, the recent House Committee on Education hearing that featured testimony from three lofty academics — I found myself marveling that such a trio of seeming nonentities had been put in charge of prestige universities in the first place.

Never mind the Ivy League, I told a friend. The athletic director at the University of Arkansas would have explained himself far better. Of course, that fellow faces hostile public inquisitions all the time.