benhocking's Journal: Bush, Cheney accused of deceit in CIA leak scandal

That headline comes from CBC News. Other headlines used to break this story include Ex-White House aide: Bush, Cheney involved in misleading media, Bush 'involved' in CIA leak case, and (just to be "fair and balanced") Former Aide Blames Bush for Leak Deceit. The former aide for those interested is Scott McClellan. Basically, he's saying that when he gave the speech in 2003 saying that they didn't know that Libby had leaked the information about Valerie Plame, it wasn't true. Of course, McClellan is pure as the driven snow, as he didn't know it was a lie, although Rove, Libby, Cheney, Card and Bush knew it was a lie. For those who want to argue that it wasn't Libby who leaked the information because someone else leaked the information first, it is possible for a boat (or story) to have more than one leak. For those who want to argue that Libby was only convicted of obstruction of justice, it was that obstruction that made it hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed treason. Finally, for those who want to argue that Plame wasn't really undercover, I feel compelled to warn you that aluminum foil doesn't have the same benefits as tin foil in protecting your minds from CIA thought devices. (They're the ones trying to tell you that she really was undercover.)

I struggle to contain my surprise

[dave-tx]

Really, this is like accusing the sun of being hot.

The thing is, everyone knows they lied. Even conservatives who won't admit publicly it know there was some amount of bullshit coming out that just didn't wash. At this point, "proving it" (not that McClellan's book is any sort of proof, of course - he's cashing in like so many before him) is almost meaningless - they did it, and despite everyone knowing they did it, they got away with it. The pardon to Libby was the ultimate eff-yoo of a cherry on top.

Everyone knows it

[benhocking]

The thing is, everyone knows they lied. Even conservatives who won't admit publicly it know there was some amount of bullshit coming out that just didn't wash.

Of course, when cornered, the typical defense will be, "but Clinton!" (For the record, I voted for Dole in '96 because I was fed up with Clinton's many scandals. In hindsight, those scandals now seem relatively tame. I still think I made the right call. After all, if Dole had won in '96, it's highly unlikely that Bush would have been in office for 9

The question is - when are they NOT lying

[WillAffleckUW]

So far as I can tell, they lie pretty much all the time, so it's easier to assume the WH is lying.

Those rare times they don't are so few and far between that it's a lot easier to spot them.

There's always that old joke...

[benhocking]

when are they NOT lying

Well, I would use a variant of that old punchline, "when they're lips aren't moving", but if they're writing something they're probably still lying. Only when they're asleep is it likely (I'm not ruling anything out) that they're not lying. Well, if they're asleep sitting or standing up, that is.

Arggh!

[benhocking]

s/they're lips/their lips/g