Bald-faced lies

In a blistering editorial today, WaPo columnist Eugene Robinson fires this shot across the White House bow:

At least now we know that the Bush administration's name for spying on Americans without first seeking court approval - the "terrorist surveillance program" - isn't an exercise in Orwellian doublespeak after all. It's just a bald-faced lie.

It seems to me that a short review is in order of the other bald-faced lies this Administration has shamelessly shoveled to the American people over the past six years. Even a quick look speaks volumes about the character of a group which continues to position itself as the guardian of our nation's moral fiber.

- "I pledge to restore honesty and integrity to the White House."

- "I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people...would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile."

- "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

- "Saddam Hussein had long-established ties with al Qaeda."

- "1.7 billion is the limit on reconstruction for Iraq."

- "We will be greeted as liberators."

- "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

- "We know where they [WMD] are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

- "No Child Left Behind", "Clear Skies Act", "Healthy Forest Initiative". (Take your pick.)

- "When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so."

- "I'm a uniter, not a divider."

- "We do not torture."

- "If anyone in this administration was responsible for the leaking of classified information, they would no longer work in this administration."

- "No one could predict that the levees would break."

- "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

So my question - especially to that 31% of the population that continues to blindly support the Bush Administration - is this: With such a demonstrable track record of deliberate obfuscation and deception to its credit, how can this White House and its supporters be believed about anything? Can we really trust that this President is serious about energy reform? Can we actually believe that the ruling party is working to secure our ports and borders?

Can we take the word of these bald-faced liars when they purport to "know" that Iran is a threat to world peace?

It's interesting to note that Title 18, part 1, chapter 47, and section 1001 of the United States Federal Statutory Code (US Code Collection) mandates fines and imprisonment up to five years for a federal office-holder who "knowingly and willfully -"

(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;

(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or

(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry.

Is there any doubt that the reprehensible conduct of The Great Decider and his cronies fits neatly into this statute?

The litany of lies that have relentlessly spewed forth from the Bush White House should by now be seen as an obvious insult to our collective intelligence. They have bankrupted our treasury, assaulted the middle class, raped our environment, eliminated safety nets for our poor, damaged our Constitution, killed or maimed tens of thousands around the globe, and increased terrorist hatred of the ol' Red White and Blue.

So when are we finally going to do something about it?

Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath about a tawdry and trivial extra-marital affair. It is unbelievable, unacceptable, and unforgivable that the entire Bush Administration has not already suffered a more severe fate, given the egregious - and ongoing - nature of its aversion to the truth.