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Bush Admits Lying to Reporters About Rumsfeld

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Posted on Nov 8, 2006
Bush lied

Last week, President Bush told a group of reporters that Donald Rumsfeld would stay on until the end of Bush’s term. Today, during Bush’s press conference, one of those reporters asked the president to square his earlier comments with his Wednesday announcement of Rumsfeld’s resignation.

Bush’s reply:

I did not want to make a major decision in the final days of the campaign. The only way to answer that question, and get it on to another question, was to give you that answer.”

  • In other words, he lied to the press for political purposes.

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  • Watch it:

     

  • UPDATE: ThinkProgress has a transcript
  •  

  • UPDATE #2:: MediaMatters notes that Bush similarly lied about the resignation of Treasury Secretary John Snow.


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    By MEGAN, November 11, 2006 at 7:00 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Gosh John,
    The people on both sides voted for the Demo’s.
    Now in just a few days you want them to fix
    the country?
    If Bush hadn’t started this WMD we wouldn’t
    be in the fix we’re in. Triple digit fiasgo.
    Enron, Haliburton.
    Talking about hearings, how much did
    Ken Starr waste on a sex case.
    Then release the time honored silence
    of a Grand Jury on the Internet.
    Instead of coming together, it sounds you’re
    still in the mindset of partisianship.
    Get over it!  Work with the American People.
    After all, aren’t they the ones who did the
    voting?
    It’s taken years to get America to the state it’s
    now in, thanks to *Prez Bush.  Oh he heard
    the American people alright and down went
    ole Rummy.  He didn’t listen to the american
    people before until he knew he was going to
    lose Congress and the Senate.
    What makes you think he’s going to listen now.
    “Stay the Course” didn’t REALLY mean Stay the
    Course?”  Now we need to Change the Course, and we need your help as well.  Get an attitude, they sell them cheap at Wallmart.  We’ve had enough of death and war.
    Now we can go after the REAL bad guys.
    Refresh my memory bank, wasn’t it Afganistan?
    Thank you for your input.
    Free speech is alive and well.

    Report this

    By MARIAM RUSSELL, November 10, 2006 at 3:28 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    John, when he who shall remain namless lied ,so far half a million people died. That trumps a blow job.

    WHAT TO DO ABOUT IRAQ?

    GET OUT.

    WHEN?

    NOW.

    HOW?

    PLANES AND SHIPS.

    I BORROWED THAT FROM STAN GOFF, AS HE IS A MUCH BETTER WRITER THAN I AND ALSO KNOWS MUCH MORE ABOUT THE ACTUALITIES OF WAR THAN I DO.

    Report this

    By Megan, November 10, 2006 at 3:07 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    When is a lie not a lie?  duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
    I don’t think Bush knows the difference.

    Report this

    By B, November 10, 2006 at 1:51 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    In response to : Comment #37473 by John

    Part of fixing the problem is fixing the system. Part of fixing the system is bringing to justice those who have done all that they can to undermine our nation and our constitution.

    After that a strengthening of laws and a rebalance of executive power will help to fight it from happening again and again and again as it has for decades. We have been witnessing one of the worst periods in American history in regards to rights, freedom, and corruption. We cannot allow this to continue. We must hold those responsible for these crimes accountable.

    I agree with you that we have pressing concerns to deal with. But to think that we can deal with these concerns in the current light is idiotic. Do you seriously think Congress can do much as it stands now? Slight majorities in both houses will not make the government change direction (unless you count petty bickering about every bill a change of direction). Bush still has his veto power (and it should be all shined up since he hasn’t had to use it yet).

    Also it strikes me as funny that you and your ilk have brought us to where we are, and now you get angry that the Dems. can’t just move on and fix it. Where was your anger in 2004?

      B

    http://b-political.blogspot.com/

    Report this

    By John, November 10, 2006 at 8:01 am Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Ok you won and for the last few days you Dems have been saying you want to fix the country…now it looks like you want to hold committee meetings on Rumsfield, Bush, Cheney and Rice.  Wow…what a way to fix the country and end the war and help the middle class….now we can look forward to 2 years of commmitte hearing and legal proceedings…JUST WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE PUT YOU IN OFFICE TO DO…...Fix the goddam country and put your pettiness behind you.

    Report this

    By ruben, November 9, 2006 at 7:43 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Kevin C,

    It’s not so much a surprise that he lied but that he’s actually admitting to it. Sure, he didn’t come right out and say “I lied”, but his answer right there proves it.

    Report this

    By Jon B, November 9, 2006 at 7:40 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    It seems to me that bush is confused to differentiate the president’s job description - running a country or running an “us vs them” political party/campaign.

    Report this

    By Roy, November 9, 2006 at 10:36 am Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Bush uses an old trick my former boss learned—to lie all the time, so that your baseline performance masks what you’re up to. This explains the seemingly incoherent things Bush says when he has no reason to lie. He has to avoid telling the truth, or people will learn to notice the difference, and see that he has a ‘tell’.

    Report this

    By Andrushka, November 9, 2006 at 10:05 am Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    The real big news would be: Vice President Cheney,
    Ms Condolizza Rice, et al have been dismissed or -to put it more elegantly, have resigned.  That would be NEWS.

    Report this

    By ian, November 8, 2006 at 8:40 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    What is different about this particular Bush lie, as opposed to the other hundreds of Bush lies, is that he actually admitted to this one.  It opens a window onto all of his other lies, and the thoughts (or lack therof) behind them.

    Report this

    By EC, November 8, 2006 at 8:13 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    I loved it when Bush realized that he had gone down a bad road by explaining exactly WHY he lied.  It was great! The throat clearing, nervous laughter and sudden rush of alternate explanations made it obvious, even in the radio broadcast I was listening to, that he was LYING.  Of course—it didn’t shock me.

    Report this

    By Anchorite, November 8, 2006 at 8:11 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    IMHO Truthdig wanted to point out the easy deception at this juncture with a fresh blatant example.  I feel it was an excellent move.  Mr. Bush could have said no comment.

    Saying over and over again that it is naive to expect the truth from a politician makes you look worldy, yes.

    Perhaps the point is that the truth is a vital necessity, and we can no longer afford to just stand around and say “of course they lie”. 

    Give me a truthful cretin to vote for anyday.

    We have got to put the psychology of “whatever it takes” behind us and each take a few lumps now and then.  It would be alright you know, with a little forgiveness.

    Report this

    By Bukko in Australia, November 8, 2006 at 7:42 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    He didn’t LIE. It’s just that he’s NEVER been “stay the course” on the truth… He was For the Dumsfeld before he was against him.

    Report this

    By owlafaye, November 8, 2006 at 7:18 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Lying is an abomination onto the Lord and an ever present help in a time of need.
    Senator Morgan 1900

    Report this

    By Terry, November 8, 2006 at 7:04 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Bush is by definition a pathological liar, always has been always will be, he lies when he does and doesn’t need to, it’s a pathological thing, some people are just born that way, but many grow up, and mature, not this one.

    Report this

    By Quy Tran, November 8, 2006 at 7:02 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    If Bush fired Rumsfeld last week, his party could get more votes but it was too late ! Right now we would like to ask “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLD?”. Rumsfeld’s resignation is just a “KISS BEFORE DYING !” to the monarch. Who’s the next ? Condi Rice or else ? Our foreign policy also needs a new face and must not be “a prostitute ones”. Hopefully !

    Report this

    By John, November 8, 2006 at 6:24 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Ok so the Dems won….okay NOW what will the Dems do to correct the mistakes of the Iraq war AND you cannot use the name BUSH in your answer.

    Report this

    By John, November 8, 2006 at 6:17 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    “I did not sex with that woman, Ms. Lewiski”
    Bill Clinton.

    yet somehow Bush saying he was keeping Rumsfield for 2 more years is a more horrible lie.

    Its the pot calling the kettle black don’t you think

    Report this

    By Dave, November 8, 2006 at 5:11 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    “Brownie your doin’ a terrific job.”
    “Don Rumsfeld will be my Secretary of Defense.  He’s doing a fantastic job.”
    Pattern anyone?

    Report this

    By theracerace, November 8, 2006 at 5:07 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    The Republican leadership threw the election!

    Why would they do that?
    ———————————-
    The Republicans are trying to shift the blame for the fallout resulting from years of misdeeds to the Democrats.  Meanwhile many of them will return to their CEO jobs in order to collect their share of the military spending booty.  There is no way to improve the Iraq situation no matter what anybody does and the Republican leadership knows this.  Their best bet is to let the Dems buy into it (starting with confirming the new Secretary of Defense) and blame the Democratically controlled congress for not giving him what he needed to “win”.  This strategy may allow them to win in ‘08 as the underdog fighting to fix the mess “created” by the Democrats.  It’ll work because memories are so darn short - thanks Liberal media.

    Think about it…
    ————————_
    ...the usually smooth Republican leadership have shot themselves in the, well.. face, multiple times in the past few weeks:

    The neocons lend a hand:
    ————————————
    - PNAC neocons (of all people) condemn Bush for doing the war wrong.  They are interviewed by Vanity Fair BEFORE the election supposedly expecting the article to be published after the election (not likely, these guys know better than that). 


    Dick helps out:
    ———————-
    - Cheney announces he is going hunting on election day just so as to revive memories of him shooting somebody in the face on his last hunting trip
    - Cheney’s silly “no-brainer” water boarding comment
    - Cheney announces that they’ll stay in Iraq no matter what anybody thinks (always a vote-winning attitude).

    Bush does his part:
    —————————-
    - With approval ratings of 38% and dropping, Bush goes on his “Kiss-of-death” tour to “aid” fellow Republicans.
    - Bush vows to keep Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense until 2008 despite his universal unpopularity (even among the military).
    - Bush makes no new promises of strategy changes to help boot support for the war - nothing.
    - Bush claims he never said “stay the course” despite massive amounts of video evidence to the contrary.
    - Bush risks inciting mass violence in Iraq with the timing of the Saddam verdict which was two days before elections.
    - October is a near-record month for casualties in Iraq thanks to the employment of new tactics.
    - In its “tough” response to the North Korea nuke test, the administration un-freezes North Korean bank accounts.
    - Bush intentionally creates friction with Iraq’s Maliki.

    And what about…
    ————————-
    ...Mark Foley and Ted Haggard?  Well, we don’t really know who is responsible for bringing these scandals out of the closet.

    Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the whole Republican party that orchestrated this.  There is no grand conspiracy, as you can see by how hard-fought congressional were.  In the end, it only took a little force from the top to push it over the edge. But, it looks like they gave it a pretty big shove just to be sure. 

    Loosing this race is the best thing that could happen to the Republican party.

    Report this

    By R. A. Earl, November 8, 2006 at 4:58 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    It’s not likely GWB will ever “get it” - that the people, slow as they are, eventually demand of their leaders, above all, CHARACTER & TRUSTWORTHINESS.

    Asking GWB to acquire “character” is like asking an inebriated person to acquire judgement… it can’t be done.

    A liar is a liar… it doesn’t matter the reason. The price of being caught in your first lie is the evaporation of trust. And when trust is gone… everything worthwile goes with it.

    Now we wait… until GWB is gone. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

    Report this

    By greenback, November 8, 2006 at 4:31 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Of course he lied. The Administration’s policy is to lie. They lied us into Iraq and for that they are now going to pay. Rumsfeild resigned. Next up, Cheney. After that old enemy of America resigns ,I suspect he’ll drop dead. It’ll only be sad because he won’t be around to face the consequences of being a traitor. Bush will resign as soon as the impeachment proceedings begin.

    Report this

    By Terry, November 8, 2006 at 4:15 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    So what else is new?  Every word out of his mouth for the last 6 years has been a lie.

    Report this

    By MARIAM RUSSELL, November 8, 2006 at 3:52 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    OH! NO! YOU CANNOT MEAN IT. LIED? OUR PRESIDENT? THE DECIDER? LIED? TO US, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE?

    I MAY BE IN PERMANANT MOURNING!

    Report this

    By Michael McLachlan, November 8, 2006 at 3:51 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Now I’m no bush fan….but, Sure he lied…I hate to break the big secret to you, but umm, politicians lie all the time! That’s what they do….they keep information from the press, unless they can use it for political purposes. Democrats do it too my friend, I’m afraid.
    Wake up and smell the 21st century, dude!
    Remember our friend Clinton?
    This isn’t news…surely on a day where so much other more important things happened, you can find a better headlining story than this???
    MKM

    Report this

    By Frank, November 8, 2006 at 3:13 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    This is about the lamest story, or non-story to ever end up on the truthdig homepage.  I mean WTF? Who cares?

    He probably didn’t make the decision until after the election results came in anyway.  We just won the house and senate (likely) and this is the best feature you can come up with? Weak.  Let it go.

    Report this

    By godma, November 8, 2006 at 3:05 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    I’m dumbfounded not by the fact that he lied but that he admitted it so unambiguously and without regret or shame.

    Report this

    By dr zaius, November 8, 2006 at 2:58 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    WHAT!!! President Bush lied to the press for political purposes??  You’d better be able to back that up mister because his record has been IMPECCABLE on that point up until now!

    Report this

    By CW, November 8, 2006 at 2:50 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Bush did blatently admit that he lied to the journalists and he makes it sound like it was the right thing to do.

    Report this

    By Scott Lewis, November 8, 2006 at 2:48 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    How did Pink Floyd say it?

    “Put him up against the wall!”


    Of course I’m not sure what they meant, but it’s a cool song.

    Report this

    By Broiler, November 8, 2006 at 2:39 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Look, I saw the press conference. If Rumsfeld
    didn’t know and Gates had not committed this is
    small in the big picture. One COULD imagine that if
    the Reps had a better showing he might not have
    made this change.

    With all of the big crap that’s been pulled,
    this would seem an understandable white lie
    by comparison.

    Report this

    By Doug Tarnopol, November 8, 2006 at 2:37 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Oh, come on. He lied us into a war—you’re shocked he lied to cover his being forced (and not just by the election) to dump Rumsfeld?

    “I’m shocked—shocked—that gambling is going on!”

    Truthdig: concentrate on vertebrizing the “bipartisan”-bleating Dems. We had a fascist Congress. Now we have a Republican one (assuming the Dems take the senate). That’s not a progressive Congress, and the battles between Pelosi and the liberal committee chairs will be interesting.

    They’ll be muzzled, I fear, to position for 2008.

    All said, Republican is better than fascist.

    Report this

    By Emad, November 8, 2006 at 2:31 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    So what’s new? And what have this clown and his thugs been doing over the last 5 years other spitting one lie after another that truth became a joke or fantasy.

    Report this

    By Don Knutsen, November 8, 2006 at 2:28 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    NEWS FLASH…..Lying comes very easily to Bush and the rest of his administration. Isn’t that at the heart of why its all coming to a head now for this Whitehouse? He comes from a dynasty that lies for political gain without any reluctance what so ever. The difference between this Bush and the others is that he’s not bright enough to atleast put some space between his lies.

    Report this

    By Kevin C, November 8, 2006 at 2:22 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    ...and we’re supposed to be surprised that he lied?  Hasn’t that been his MO for the past 6 years?

    Report this
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