The Strategically Ambiguous George W. Bush

[JesFine]

Interesting article: (http://www.spinsanity.org/columns/20030612.html)
President Bush's recent claim that weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq highlights two disturbing trends in rhetoric from the White House. The first, as we have pointed out, is the Bush administration's record of factual misstatements and distortions. The second is the administration's - and especially President Bush's - history of strategically ambiguous statements that, while technically or arguably true, imply connections between two things which he cannot directly demonstrate.

[DrChinese]

What's the difference between deception and lying? I don't believe there is any difference, but apparently this view is not shared by all. Because this difference is at the heart of Bush's tactics. He may not be lying, but he is certainly deceiving.

To Bush, it doesn't matter if everyone is deceived. (You can't fool all of the people all of the time, goes the saying.) But if you are not watching every trick carefully, you will be fooled by the magician. Bush's verbal magic has taken in plenty of people.

What has been proved? What has been disproved? What was said, by whom, and when? Everyone is bombarded with information, and if you miss a piece or two of the puzzle, he has you. A la the referenced article.