Blitzer's stroll down the Blvd. of Bush Lies

I have to give Wolf Blitzer major kudos for detailing the multitude of lies of the Bush administration. Normally, I don't agree with Blitzer on a number of fronts, but this is truly a great piece of footage.

I'm not still arguing against whether we should have gone to war in Iraq by bringing up this footage; what I'm doing is offering up the merits of a foreign policy that has gone terribly wrong. And this foreign policy will largely be continued by John McCain, who thinks it's funny to make jokes about bombing Iran. We cannot and we must not continue down the path of preemptive war, unless every single diplomatic option has been exhausted. Since we aren't even talking to the Iranians right now, it's not a stretch to say that all diplomatic options have not been explored.

And the double standard between Iran and North Korea is quite telling. I can distinctly remember the Bushies all but calling the Clinton administration a bunch of pussies for negotiating with North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.

Low and behold, over the weekend, I read that North Korea has been convinced to give up its nuclear program, through diplomacy, and that it will be removed from the State Department's terrorist watch list. So I guess that diplomacy only is an option when it's a country we simply don't want to invade (or can't afford to in terms of troops and money).

So much for diplomacy not being an option, and for North Korea being a member of the Axis of Evil. All accomplished through diplomacy.

My favorite parts of the video above, however, are Donald Rumsfeld's obfuscations, and Dick Cheney's combativeness when confronted with the facts by Blitzer. History will treat neither man kindly.

And Condi Rice's "mushroom cloud" statement from September 2002 now looks almost like a Saturday Night Live sketch.

Outrage: Bush praises McCain for GI Bill

Seriously, I wouldn't have even believed this if not for the video above. A little while ago today, President Bush, with a straight face, offered up praise for leaders of both parties for passing the G.I. Bill, including John McCain. What's so crazy about that, you ask? Well, as I've written about it before, McCain has been inexplicably opposed to the bill from jump, and he didn't even cast a vote in the Senate for the final bill.

I really don't see how any normal, rational, even passively political person couldn't conclude that Bush told a whale of a lie, and knew it, during this press conference. It's one of the things that drives me crazy about Bush - his blatant lying, when he knows he'd doing it. Okay, I'm not naïve enough to believe that there are many honest politicians in our country, if any, but that doesn't make Bush's words above any less wrong.

But it takes a special sort of contemptible scoundrel to drop a complete lie with a straight face before the cameras. During the last 7+ years, Bush has joined the ranks of Clinton, Reagan and Nixon by telling so many lies, it actually now stands out more when Bush is honest, because those instances are few and far in between. Today is just another sad, pathetic example.

A few other things are worth noting here. I'm wondering just what, in fact, Bush was thanking McCain for - opposing the bill as much as possible behind the scenes until public opinion overtook both men's opposition? It's a very poorly kept secret that Bush opposed the bill as much as McCain did, the former calling the bill "too expensive," which is incredibly laughable, since we are spending between $3 and $4 billion per week in Iraq.

Bush's signing the G.I. Bill into law is a typical move from the Bush play book, too - turning around and supporting a bill that he initially vehemently opposed - kind of like the Department of Homeland Security Bill in 2002, which was sponsored by Sen. Lieberman, back when he really was a Democrat. So, the play goes like this - Bush fights a bill he hates like crazy, and when public opinion proves him wrong, he turns 180 degrees and takes the credit by supporting it.

I'd love to know how many tens of millions of Americans who now think that McCain and Bush "support the troops" because of what Bush said about McCain after signing the bill.

McCain's "support" for the bill? How about not even showing up to vote for it. This is another one of many examples of McCain's strategy that he's employed for many, many months now - not showing up for votes, so he can't be criticized either way. So, if the public supports the bill, no one can say he voted against it. And if there are problems with the law's implementation later, no one can say that McCain voted for it. That's called a blatant lack of political courage. Translation: This must be more of what McCain calls his "straight talk" and another reason why the subservient press continues calling McCain a "maverick."

One final thought - the GOP, whose members never misses an opportunity to wrap themselves in the flag and to thump their chests while screaming, "We support the troops," should be called out on this fact - 22 senators voted against the G.I. Bill, all of them Republican. Now that's supporting the troops!

But wait! Look! Over here! Obama's not wearing an American flag on his lapel!!! He doesn't care about the troops! He's not patriotic!

Anyway, don't take my word for it about who voted what on the GI Bill - the non-partisan U.S. Senate Website has the roll call vote. People should remember this when, months from now, Bush is busy licking himself all over, saying he "supported the troops by signing the G.I. Bill." He initially didn't, and 22 Republican senators didn't when it counted, either.

I'd love to say the press won't let Bush and McCain get away with their lies about this, but I know better.