Liz Cheney was not piquant

Liz Cheney appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week.

It was an odd pairing, given that Colbert has spent decades making fun of her and her father, which he acknowledged during the interview.

Cheney handled the moment with humor and grace, but she did something even more impressive during the interview.

At the top of the second segment, Colbert said, “As I said before, I made a few piquant jokes about you and your dad over the years, and I think it is important that if we’re going to have the ability to have these disagreements, as you said, we have to have a country that is a democracy that is not a fascist dictatorship…”

Cheney interrupted and asked, “And what is piquant? I don’t know what that means.”

Colbert said, “Piquant is like a sharp…”

“It’s a very elitist word,” Cheney said, laughing in good spirit and bringing the studio audience and Colbert himself to laughter, too.

Liz Cheney, former United States Congresswoman and one of the former leaders of the Republican caucus, who co-chaired the January 6 Select Committee and is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, acknowledged on television that she didn’t know the meaning of a word.

I can’t overstate how impressed I was with this moment. Most people would’ve allowed that word to slide by, unwilling to admit their ignorance. At best, they may have used context clues to guess the meaning of the word without verifying their guess’s accuracy.

Cheney did none of these things. She stopped Colbert in his tracks and asked for the definition. On live television in front of millions of viewers.

Years ago, in the green room before a Moth GrandSLAM, Elysha and I were speaking to the show’s host – author, storyteller, and all-around fantastic human being, Dan Kennedy. Amid our conversation, Elysha stopped Dan to ask the meaning of a word, much like Cheney on Colbert.

Kennedy grabbed his chest and faked a heart attack, expressing disbelief that someone in this world might possess the self-confidence to admit ignorance while simultaneously expressing intellectual curiosity.

He made a big deal out of it.

It was admittedly a tiny thing, but given the nature of human beings, the fragility of so many psyches, the flagging self-esteem of so many, the festering fear that resides in so many hearts, and the obscene puffery that we see so often in people, Dan was right to make a big deal of the moment. It was an enormous thing. In a world filled with silence and self-congratulation, Elysha told someone she didn’t know something.

It said so much about Elysha and the confidence and self-worth that she carries through life.

You don’t see that kind of moment often.

Liz Cheney’s acknowledgment of her ignorance was equally impressive. Perhaps even more so given the public nature of her moment.

Both women – my wife and the former Congresswoman – demonstrated courage that so few can muster these days.

I also heard Colbert use the word “piquant” —three times, including when Cheney finally asked him what it meant. I knew the word’s meaning, but only because I studied French for four years in high school and two years in college.

Had I spent my time wisely studying Spanish instead, I would’ve been as lost as Cheney.

“Piquant” is simply not a word used very often today. I suspect that most of Colbert’s studio and television audience didn’t know its meaning, either.

I also suspect that most people would’ve remained silent in their ignorance.

Liz Cheney and I disagree on most things politically, but we agree on the importance of democracy, so I respect, support, and even adore her, hoping that her fight for democracy is a winning one so we can continue to disagree in a country where you win or lose at the ballot box.

After her performance on Colbert, I admire her even more.