UGLY BODYGUARD
EmailWinston Churchill once said that "In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." Those bodyguards of prevarication were part of the President’s security detail today.
There’s really no way around it, the White House lied quite a bit in the name of security for President Bush’s surprise trip to Iraq today. Few reporters if any would resent the lie of omission — not telling us about the trip. That’s perfectly understandable. And that’s what happened for the President’s surprise Thanksgiving 2003 trip to Iraq.
But yesterday we were given active disinformation. A story about a video-teleconference through which Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Cabinet would speak to the President at Camp David, which I then went on TV to tell you about — even though it wasn’t true.
We were also told the President was going to hold a press conference today at 2:30 pm EST in the Rose Garden, which ABC News planned to cover live, and which we told you about on Good Morning America.
Also not true.
I understand the tight lid that — as a matter of life and death — must be kept on these things. I know that Cabinet officials woke up at Camp David expecting to have breakfast with the President when he was far, far away. But I question whether actual active mis-directional false information needs to be concocted for this purpose. Why not invent more?
WHITE HOUSE SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY JUNE 13, 2006
6 a.m. EST Oval Office — THE PRESIDENT will attempt to break the world high jump record
6:15 a.m. EST Lincoln Bedroom — THE PRESIDENT will cure cancer.
6:45 a.m. EST Rose Garden — THE PRESIDENT will award medals to every participant in the 2006 Special Olympics.
etc
Already I can hear the gripes from the Right (don’t you understand there’s a war on, punk?) and the Left (is this the only lie you care about, the one that affects your lame job?). But I offer this thought regardless. Am glad the President arrived and left Iraq safely.
jt
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Since the President wants the news media to report how safe it is in Iraq and how much progress our troops are making, why doesn’t he make a public multi-day trip to demonstrate the progress. Tony Blair was publicly in Baghdad for a week to view for himself what is going on. Is the President still afraid to go in public?
Posted by: Susan | June 13, 2006, 6:48 pm 6:48 pm
He lied about the HUGE cost estimate of the very flawed Medicare prescription program, he lied about WMD in Iraq and then had Colin Powell lie about it to the UN–what’s one more in a long series of lies he’s continuously told (I do not believe in nation building;2000)
Posted by: sophillyfatz | June 13, 2006, 8:13 pm 8:13 pm
just counting down the days until he’s back on the ranch where he can’t hurt anyone again.
Posted by: sasquatch | June 13, 2006, 9:47 pm 9:47 pm
PR stunts don’t stop people fighting one another.
And that’s all this was…a PR stunt for a guy that’s not suppose to care about polls.
Yeah…Right.
Posted by: James | June 14, 2006, 3:22 am 3:22 am
There are lies of omission and lies of commission, and the President’s schedule yesterday was full of the latter. I agree with you, Jake, in that false information need not be concocted to deflect reporters from their jobs of reporting the news; a policy of secrecy accomplishes the same result. Unfortunately, this administration tries to use both types of subterfuge (remember “Mission Accomplished” and any of the lies cited by the other people posting comments here?), not fully realizing that it erodes its basic trust and credibility with the American people every time it does so. No wonder why the President’s approval ratings have tanked! People just don’t believe what he says anymore.
Posted by: chuck | June 14, 2006, 7:55 am 7:55 am