Lies and the Lying Liars

Steve over at No More Mister Nice Blog hits it squarely on the head:

"My opinion is that Bush didn't lie. Infinitely slicker than Clinton, Bush conveys erroneous impressions about Iraq every time he talks about Iraq, while tiptoeing carefully around actual lies like a man trying to escape alive from a minefield. His typical speech on the subject is: al-Qaeda Taliban al-Qaeda Taliban terrorism Iraq Saddam Hussein safe haven for terrorists weapons of mass destructions we must not forget the lessons of September 11. There are no lies; there's just proximity. It's Saturday Night Live's Mr. Subliminal."

This has got to be one of the most frustrating things about Bush. He makes blatantly false assertions with impunity and when he's finally called on it (or what passes for being called on it with our present-day wimpified press), he equivocates worse than Clinton ever did. It's like getting into a playground argument with a weasely little 8 year-old -- you know he's lying and he knows he's lying (and he knows you know he's lying), but he thinks he's getting off on a technicality because technically, he didn't lie. It's that smug arrogance that just makes me want to smack that smarmy smile right of his piggy-eyed little face. Am I pissed? Godddamned right I am. Because it's fucking insulting, that's why; it's one thing to be lied to, but when you and the liar both know he's not kidding anyone and he's going to get away with it anyway? Asshole.

That post did remind me, however, of one of the "bush in 30seconds" ads that Sal and I quote frequently. (Courtesy of MoveOn.org, if you didn't already know. In which case, get thee to this site and click on the winner, because you? Have been living under a rock.)