On the whole, a very fair and well-written newsitorial in the NY Times:
In fact, a review of the president’s public statements found little that could lead to a conclusion that the president actually lied on either subject. But more pertinent than whether the president told the literal truth is what factors he stressed and which ones he played down.
Certainly, a strong argument can be made that he exaggerated the danger posed by banned Iraqi weapons when he was trying to convince the country and Congress of the need for a pre-emptive strike and that he overemphasized the benefits to people of modest means when he was trying to sell his tax cut.
Which is what I have been saying for months. He hasn’t lied- he may have exaggerated, and in the end, he and everyone else (including all the Democrat Senaotrs who once agreed Iraq had WMD) may have been wrong, but he hasn’t lied.
In the speech in March, on the eve of war, Mr. Bush declared, “Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.”
There is no evidence the president did not believe what he was saying. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and other Democrats said last week that intelligence briefings they received justified Mr. Bush’s statements.
Democrats- calling him stupid had more traction than calling him a liar. You see where that got you.