The White House Lied to the American Public

Lying seems to be the culture of the White House press briefings, reminiscent of the Nixon days. Lies dished out to the US and the world's media to show the US President in the best light. It does not matter whether the truth is being bent or totally warped.

Houston Chronicles commented on the latest press briefing by the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer :

White House press secretary shows little regard for truth.

Perhaps not since Ron Zeigler made inoperative statements on behalf of Richard Nixon, however, has a press secretary exhibited such a brazen and cavalier disregard for the facts.

Bush had all along wanted to sit in a fighter jet to land on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to address the US troops that the war in Iraq is over.

Here is how the spin or lie is being concocted by Ari Fleischer, the White House Press Secretary.

Ari Fleischer informed the world that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln would be hundreds of miles offshore. And that distance over water, it would be too long for the president to safely to fly in a slower, cheaper helicopter with limited range. That is the first lie.

When President Bush flew on Air Force One from Washington toward California for his rendezvous with the Navy Viking jet, Fleischer claimed that he had no idea how far offshore the carrier was steaming and could not get the answer. That is the second lie.

The reality is that the USS Abraham Lincoln was only less than 40 miles from shore. Yet White House officials told the press and television networks, falsely, that the carrier was about 100 miles offshore.

They knew the truth, because they manipulated the television camera angles for fear the coastline might be visible.

Then late-night comedians began to snipe and ridicule Bush's exploits in naval aviation, with some reporters and commentators questioned the cost and prudence of the exercise.

What is the spin after the fact?

Fleischer came out and told the American public " distance never mattered", and the President wanted to take the jet no matter what.

Fleischer conveniently refused to explain why he and his associates repeatedly misled the public earlier.

The President is the Commander -in-chief. He can decide how he wants to visit his troops as he likes.

But why should Bush's aides want to misrepresent the facts? Perhaps they do so out of habit, a habit they find hard to break.

The tendency of political press aides to spin the facts has devolved so far it has spun out.

Ari Fleischer did not lie personally. He was asked to lie for the President of the United States. The enormity of the lie may not be as huge as Nixon's lies, but the principle of the need for the White House to tell the truth to the American public, should remain the same.

Read here on Senator Byrd's criticism of Bush's photo-op landing on the aircraft carrier in a jet fighter.

Read here commentator David Corn's take in The Nation on President Bush's short flight on the Viking jet to meet his troops on the aircraft carrier.

Read here Reuter's article "George W. Bush was intent on landing by fighter jet ."

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