Originally posted by Demandred
I think clinton was the least harmful liar.
No argument with your opinion, Demandred. It is a good one, But I will go a bit further and say that both Bush and Clinton did a lot of harm with
their lies.
#1 I believe George Bush committed a HUGE lie of omission. That lie is as follows: He was aware that the attacks of September 11th were likely to
occur, but he said to himself "They wouldn't dare!" and he did nothing! (Come on – the intelligence reports were on Bush's desk!) Bush will
never admit to that -- but I bet it is true. He WANTED this war, contrary to what he has implied.
#2 I believe Bill Clinton committed a relatively minor lie, but it was one of pure commission, and extremely grievous in its sheer boldness. He NEW he
was lying, he actively lied, and he thought he could get away with it. There was no rational other than he didn't think it was important enough to
tell the truth about. He chose to lie, because being the President, people would believe him! To me, that was a very dangerous thing to do. The
consequences: Clinton set the "truth" bar VERY LOW. Other lying Presidents would inevitably follow him. I bet I could draw a line between that lie,
and the invasion of Iraq.
#
Neither one of these guys is / was honest, blunt, truthful, or anything that we want or need for a President. They manipulated us with lies.
And unfortunately, the same situation likely exists with Obama and McCain -- I don't know for sure yet. I fear we are going to go down a long and
tortuous path of lying USA Presidents for at least another generation (or two) of humanity. That really depresses me. The consequences will not be
good.
Edit: To clarify -- I list just two obvious examples, above. The biggest lies have yet to be discovered and / or confirmed. I am sure there are
countless horrific examples that will never be known: Murders, rapes, tortures, embezzlement, horrible injustices, as well as many lies that exist
strictly to prevent embarrassment. How many deliberate lies exist to hide selfishness and stupidity? QUITE A FEW, no doubt.
That's all I have to say on this subject. Whew! I feel better now
[edit on 17-7-2008 by Buck Division]