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Wednesday, December 28, 2005
A Proposed "First Law of Presidential Politics"
What two things do the following statements have in common?
"I am not a crook" "Read my lips - no new taxes" "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" "We do not torture" Answer: They're all short, declarative statements given by a president (or soon-to-be president). And they're all 100% dead wrong. As in flat out lies. So here's the new rule: If a president declares something, emphatically, in a manner of the above, he (or she) is automatically assumed to be lying until proven otherwise. Even if he (or she) is of your party, you must assume that she (or he) is lying his (or her) to our collective faces. Discuss. Other examples are welcome, as well as corrolaries or contradictory statements that could help us refine this law. |
1 Comments:
I think what it reflects is instances when members of the press have pinned down the president. In each case, there was just no getting away from the question, and the president in each case then lied (or fudged the truth).
It is therefore interesting that when Bush finally gave his "We do not torture" line it was in one of the very few unscripted press briefings, to foreign journalists, who would not let him off the hook.
So, one wonders whether a requirement of a free and independent press should be the mandate that presidents must expose themselves to questions, unfiltered, every once in a while.
11:28 AM, December 29, 2005
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