John Nichols (The Nation): The Big Lie

From The Nation
Dated Wednesday June 29

The Big Lie
By John Nichols

"We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11th." -- George W. Bush, September 17, 2003

To the extent that George Bush had retained the slightest shred of dignity through the whole ugly Iraq imbroglio, it was found in his refusal to fully embrace the biggest of the Big Lies told by his aides: The claim that the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein had played a role in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon . . . .

(A)fter the the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States established that there was no collaboration between Iraq and al-Qaida, Bush became a good deal more cautious than Cheney. And when the president was directly confronted this spring by reporters and asked whether he shared the vice president's view that a connection had been established, Bush detached himself from his vice president's mad ranting and made it clear that there was no evidence to support the charge.

In other words, Bush made at least some effort to avoid echoing Cheney's Big Lies.

Until now.

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He's my favorite journalist and this article only makes me love him more.