Michael Kinsley explains why the Bush administration lies all the time:
Posted by DeLong at October 17, 2003 12:35 PM | TrackBackTIME.com: Why Bush Angers Liberals -- Oct. 13, 2003: This dynamic works on facts just as it does on policies, making Bush a remarkably successful liar. This too is unexpected. There seemed to be something guileless and nonneurotic about Bush when we first made his acquaintance. It was the flip side of his, um, dimness and seemed to promise frankness if nothing else. But guess what? Ignorance and lack of curiosity are terrific fortifications for dishonesty. Bill Clinton knew that he had had sex with that woman and had to work hard to convince himself that he hadn't. Bush neither knew nor cared whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction or close connections to al-Qaeda when he started to say so, and once he started, mere lack of evidence was not going to make him stop.
Just this week, responding to the brouhaha about the alleged White House outing of an undercover CIA agent, Bush declared that he takes leaks very seriously and deplores them. Liberals across America screamed into their TV sets, "But that leak was in the papers two months ago, and you did nothing about it until the fuss started last weekend!" If Bush could hear them, he might furrow his brow in puzzlement and say, "And your point is?" Steeped as liberals are in irony, it took us a while to learn what a powerful tool an irony-free mind can be...
When the president looks for all of his information and guidance from god, the truth (for him) is what his god tells him it is. This is why he doesn't read newspapers (he's got the ultimate source) and he doesn't change his mind. He doesn't need to change his mind. He is, by definition (his definition), Right. If you think he's contradicting facts as they stand or his own previous statements, you're wrong. Because he's Right. Regardless. And it's not lying because you were wrong and he is Right.
It makes no sense to talk about this administration as liars and hypocrits. They are fundamentalists. This removes any possibility of accountability, compromise, or reevaluation.
When Bush came into power people were astonished that he behaved as if he had a mandate. He believed he did. But not from the people.
Posted by: AP on October 18, 2003 09:10 AM