When a politician says he or she misspoke are they trying not to say they lied?

Question

If the ordinary citizen said that what would you think? That possibly they would make a good politician?

Answer 1

No.
They are trying to weasel out of something that they really MEANT to say, and they weren't lying. But then, when the backlash came, they try to backpedal and pretend like they didn't really mean what they said.
"I misspoke" is pure political BS
Ordinary citizens are moral enough to say what they really think and not try to deny it.

Answer 2

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Have you ever said something because you were in a rush, or pressured, and then realized that you meant to say something else? That's one example of mis-speaking.

Another is answering a question with only a partial answer -- either because you didn't realize there was more to the context, or because you meant one thing but chose less than perfect words to express it.

But yes, sometimes, it's a way to backpedal -- but if you make your life speaking in public -- that's a frequent occupational hazard.

Answer 3

More often than not, YES. It is possible they were misunderstood or did not realized what they were saying. In the case of unplanned comments or answers to unusual questions, I am more likely to accept that. When a politician routinely misspeaks in planned comments, they are either lying or incompetent. Neither is good.

Answer 4

It could be a mistake or it could be an outright lie. I have been guilty of both in my life.

Answer 5

Exactly