Nixon...Reagan...Bush...Who's the Evillest?

I had been toying with the idea of a thread about the single biggest lie the Bushiviks have told (relative to Iraq, for the sake of brevity). But that is rendered moot, I think. Ramblin’ Rummy has taken the cake, has rung the bell, and brought down the curtain. Is any competition possible now, short of reading The Protocols of the Elders of Zion into the Congressional Record?

http://www.starbanner.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2003211090375

"In the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said U.S. forces would be welcomed by the Iraqi citizenry and that Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.

Now, after both statements have been shown to be either incorrect or vastly exaggerated, Rumsfeld - with the same trademark confidence that he exuded before the war - is denying that he ever made such assertions."

[znip]

"For example, on Feb. 20, a month before the invasion, Rumsfeld fielded a question about whether Americans would be greeted as liberators if they invaded Iraq.

“Do you expect the invasion, if it comes, to be welcomed by the majority of the civilian population of Iraq?” Jim Lehrer asked the defense secretary on PBS’ “The News Hour.”

“There is no question but that they would be welcomed,” Rumsfeld replied, referring to American forces. “Go back to Afghanistan, the people were in the streets playing music, cheering, flying kites, and doing all the things that the Taliban and the al-Qaeda would not let them do.” "

[znip]
"But on Sept. 25, -… Rumsfeld was asked about the surging resistance.

“Before the war in Iraq, you stated the case very eloquently and you said . . . they would welcome us with open arms,” Sinclair Broadcasting anchor Morris Jones said to Rumsfeld as the prelude to a question.

The defense chief quickly cut him off.
“Never said that,” he said. “Never did. You may remember it well, but you’re thinking of somebody else. You can’t find, anywhere, me saying anything like either of those two things you just said I said.” "

Had enough? So have I, doesn’t mean they stop serving.

“When testifying about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction before the House Armed Services Committee Sept. 18, 2002, Rumsfeld said Saddam “has amassed large clandestine stocks of biological weapons.” including anthrax and botulism toxin and possibly smallpox. His regime has amassed large clandestine stockpiles of chemical weapons, including VX and sarin and mustard gas.”

[znip]

"A reporter at a Pentagon news conference asked: “In retrospect, were you a little too far-leaning in your statement that Iraq categorically had caches of weapons, of chemical and biological weapons, given what’s been found to date? You painted a picture of extensive stocks” of Iraqi mass-killing weapons.

“Wait,” Rumsfeld interjected. “You go back and give me something that talks about extensive stocks. The U.N. reported extensive stocks. That is where that came from. I said what I believed to be the case, and I don’t - I’d be surprised if you found the word 'extensive.”’
Does “large” mean something other than “extensive”?

So, at any rate, afraid we may have to cancel the contest. I really don’t see anyone topping this, when it comes to bald-faced, flat-footed lying through the teeth…

I open the floor to other candidates, but I think we can safely move to a voice vote with considerable hope for unanimity. The 2003 Richard M. Nixon Award for Wholesale Mendacity will then be awarded to Donald Rumsfeld!

(The crowd goes wild, balloons and bunting drop from the ceiling…)

I dunno, for some reason, I just keep thinking of that scene in Animal House with Kevin Bacon saying “Remain calm. All is well”.

A strong contender for sure but there is still plenty of time for bigger lies to surface. I wouldn’t call it a wrap just yet.

As I mentioned in another thread, I think Al Frankin is going to have enough material for a couple of sequels to “Lies and the Lying Liars Who tell Them” by the time this administration is out of office.

Dude, you are wrong, wrong, WRONG! We have not yet heard the worst. Just wait, remember election year is coming around. We haven’t even played the Plame Blame Game yet.

Uhhhhhh,

“Plame Blame Game?”

:confused:

Yes, as in this or this.

wring: Then there’s Bush, exhorting the troops with “Was it over when the Germans attacked Pearl Harbor?” while in the background Colin’s mouth drops, and Condi says “Don’t stop him, he’s on a roll.”

In keeping with the Animal House theme, there’s always the line…

“Hey, you fucked up! You trusted us!”

Well, elucidator, I bet if you scan the quotes in the pre-war time, you probably will never find the phrase “open arms” nor the phrase “extensive stockpile”. This is similar to his lying boss’ assertion that he never said “imminent threat” and that he never explicitly linked Iraq to al-Qaeda. In each case, the man in question is technically correct and morally bankrupt – he can claim that he never made any allusions between Afghanistan’s and Iraq’s responses (or between Sadaam and 9/11, in the other case), and that any such conclusion drawn was drawn by someone in order to discredit either Rummy or Bush.

I had assumed that by now one of his faithful defenders would have dropped by to say basically the same thing but in a positive way.

How can we dance when the world keeps turning?
How can we sleep while our beds are burning?

I dunno. People kept saying what this administration reminds them of and that song popped into my head.

Sounds like Rummy has been taking weasling tips from Bill O’Reilly.

This is much like the people arguing that Bush didn’t lie because he never used the phrase “imminent threat”. Because he used every other word in Roget’s Thesaurus that mean the same things, but not those particular words, he wasn’t lying apparently. I guess this little sophistry technique is getting a lot of use lately in the administration.

Oh, no you don’t! You’re not dragging in that sad-ass little fib about “imminent” into these august proceedings! Why, that sorry little mogrel barely qualifies as misleading! Nosir! We’re talking pure-D, A number one Prime here!

So you just take that mangy nugget of falsehood on out of here, and maybe come back when you have some premium stock.

I posted one of those “Bush Resumes” on another forum the other day (lists his military service, actions as governor of Texas,
vacation time as President, etc etc etc - all documented facts).

I got responses from “shut up” to calling the information “innuendo” - many people are not listening or don’t want to hear.

These are “interesting” times.

I agree the Rummy lie is more blatant. I mention the “imminent” thing only because it is similar.

I’d like to put him on permanent vacation, myself. Just one more year to go…

Time to break open good old nineteen eighty four

Hyperbolic maybe, but just how hyperbolic depends on the extent the media picks up on Rumsfeld’s disingenuous lies.

How about Lies and the Lying Liars Who Told Them This Month?

Tom Tomorrow’s This Modern World: Rummy on a Roll

I don’t think Orwell ever thought it might be used as a Handbook instead of a warning.

Thanks you posting the reminder.

We live in truly remarkable times.