You can call this a smoking gun. You can call this "catching him dead to rights". You can call it what you want, but don't forget this lie.
If Mother Nature don't get you, Father Time will. - Evil Knievel
Without credibility, there is no leadership.
The Associated Press yesterday unveiled the now infamous video of clear warnings that the Bush Administration and embattled president George Bush received in advance of Hurricane Katrina and the drowning of New Orleans. Watch the video [here].
Mr. Bush is warned:
"I don't think that anyone can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but that's obviously a very, very grave concern." - Max Mayfield, Director, National Hurricane Center, August 29, 2005
On the videotape, Mr. Bush is seen reassuring others at the briefing, after he is INFORMED that the Hurricane could overwhelm the levees of New Orleans.
"I want to assure the folks at the state level that we are fully prepared," George W. Bush, August 29, 2005 at the same briefing
Three days later, after the levees broke and New Orleans drowned, Mr. Bush famously denied responsibility.
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." - George W. Bush, September 1, 2005
You can call this a smoking gun. You can call this "catching him dead to rights". You can call it what you want, but don't forget this lie.
The three top qualities people the world over look for in a leader are honesty, vision, and capability. Honesty is far and away the #1. Without honesty, you can't lead.
It didn't matter that Bill Clinton controlled budgets, never lost an American in battle, expanded rights, saw a visionary peaceful leadership role for the US in the world, or any of the other things that he accomplished. What mattered was that he lied, and the conservative movement will never let him be remembered for anything else.
It didn't matter that Richard Nixon was a political genius, a brilliant historian, a leader of profound drive and authority. He lied. He will always be remembered as the guy who said "I am not a crook.", and thereby proved without a doubt, forever and always that he was.
Once a leader is proven a liar, a liar she or he shall remain forever.
If Mr. Bush feels comfortable standing in front of the world and lying to us about a disaster that eliminated one of the greatest cultural centers of American life, what won't he lie to us about? Should we believe that he has done his due diligence on the Dubai Ports World deal? That we all misjudged him on the Downing Street Memo? That they didn't monkey with intelligence in the rush to war in Iraq? That he's really doing everything he needs to ensure domestic security? That his plan for Social Security, the environment, foreign oil, education or any other policy has anything to do with the best interest of the American people?
If our embattled president believes it's perfectly fine to go in front of the world and lie about his handling of a national disaster of biblical proportions, what won't he lie about?
If our embattled president believes it's perfectly fine to go in front of the world and lie, then clearly it is fine for Americans to ignore every single word he says until he leaves office in January 2009, or is impeached sometime much sooner.
After the Tet Offensive and the release of the Pentagon Papers, the media began to refer to the space between the truth and the stories coming out of the Johnson Administration as a "Credibility Gap". Now we look at the failed and weak executive, George W. Bush. His constant secrecy and earth shattering lies present a Grand Credibility Canyon.
What could he possibly do to cross that chasm between faithlessness and faith, between betrayal and trust, between spin and truth?
Evil Knievel jumped buses, cars, trains, he even put himself in a rocket sled to jump across the Snake River Canyon. He broke nearly every bone in his body. I don't think that even Evil could find a way to jump Bush's Credibility Canyon. With 2 in 3 Americans unable to approve of Mr. Bush's performance, I think most Americans wouldn't mind seeing George Bush fired in a rocket sled to somewhere.
How long must this nation drift without a leader?
No credibility, no leadership. That gap cannot be crossed.
More on the video [here], [here], [here], [here], and [here].
Also Hughes has some great questions about this: [here]. I just hope he's got a sense of humor.
[UPDATE: The National Journal today reports that bush was clearly informed that his justifications for the Iraq war were highly questionable:
Two highly classified intelligence reports delivered directly to President Bush before the Iraq war cast doubt on key public assertions made by the president, Vice President Cheney, and other administration officials as justifications for invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein, according to records and knowledgeable sources.
There was nothing less than absolute certainty coming out of the White House in the run up to the war.]