June 19, 2003
"There are no good lies, but some matter more than others"
In a well balanced editorial in today’s Boston Globe Joan Vennochi asks “Which lies matter most to the American public?” She compares possible mistruths by Hillary and George W.
Hillary Clinton took $8 million from a book publisher and possibly didn’t tell the whole truth about the Lewinsky scandal. George W. Bush took the armed forces of the United States of America, put lives at risk, and shook the world order to wage war against Iraq. Maybe he told the whole truth about why we were going to war and maybe he didn’t.
Personally, I've been unable to understand the lack of outrage towards the administration on their reasons for going to war. At the very least Bush was less than honest about WMD, yet, as Vennochi states, "64 percent of those surveyed said they did not believe that the Bush administration 'deliberately misled' the American public". Up until now the public and the media have given G.W. a free pass on a lot of things, but it seems like the tide might finally be turning. We're starting to see more stories asking question like Vennochi does. (Today Salon asks "Why don't we care about the WMD?") Let's hope the momentuem continues to build, the questions get tougher and this bothers Bush for the quite a bit longer.
Posted by rschroed at June 19, 2003 11:16 AMWell, unlike previous president’s who had press interviews on a fairly consistent basis (Clinton was indeed an attention whore in this regard), Bush keeps himself well-padded against the media. This sly manuever allows him to lay blame on staff and miscommunication in the event of a bombshell story as this may well evolve into.
Another great tactic he has adopted is to disarm the press with charm, and feed them one-liners or referrals to other staff. This allows him to maintain an appearance of being open while keeping journalists at an arm’s length.
Posted by: Stephen VanDyke at June 19, 2003 11:27 AMYou’re right, they handle the media better than anyone ever has. But, why do journalists let him get away with it?
Posted by: rschroed at June 19, 2003 11:33 AM
