'Essentially?'

I had planned to ignore the conclusion of the Anna Nicole Smith babydaddy drama with the same determination with which I had ignored every other element of this story, but a paragraph in this ABC News piece caught my eye.

An expert in genetic evidence said the DNA analysis has proven Birkhead is Dannielynn's father. Dr. Michael Baird, who analyzed the results of a March 21 DNA test, announced the results outside the court. "Essentially, he's the biological father," Baird said.

Essentially? What an odd and equivocal thing to say.

DNA paternity testing produces results that are considered at least 99.9 percent accurate. Why couldn't this expert just say the guy is the biological father without the qualifier?

Okay, back to our regularly-scheduled blogging.