President Bush yesterday tried to pass blame to the Navy for the boastful Mission Accomplished banner that trumpeted what Bush then called the end of major combat in Iraq.
This is a load of crap, and yet another in a long line of untruths to come from Bush and his administration.
Back when things were looking a bit rosier for the Bush Administration, White House officials weren’t so shy in taking credit for the Hollywood stagecraft that provides a cover for the emperor with no clothes.
In an article last May, the New York Times covered the efforts of the Bush White House to put a positive visual spin on presidential events.
Keepers of Bush Image Lift Stagecraft to New Heights
The most elaborate — and criticized — White House event so far was Mr. Bush’s speech aboard the Abraham Lincoln announcing the end of major combat in Iraq. White House officials say that a variety of people, including the president, came up with the idea, and that Mr. Sforza embedded himself on the carrier to make preparations days before Mr. Bush’s landing in a flight suit and his early evening speech.
What I find tragic is that it takes a disaster in Iraq to begin prying people’s eyes open to the fast and loose manner with which Bush and his administration play with the truth. This administration has been misleading the American people from the very start on a wide range of issues. But it takes a mistake that’s costing American lives, hundreds of billions of dollars and attention that should be focused elsewhere to shock people out of their stupor. Maybe.