Read My Lips Redux

Bush lied.

I woke up this morning after a late night of election coverage feeling somewhat optimistic and refreshed. Republicans took a pasting, no doubt, but it was deserved, and there are several, er, points of light that offer, er, hope.

But then I heard Bush's press conference and the announcement of Rumsfeld.

That was a find a bucket and throw up moment, I'll tell you. Just remarkable. Every line in the series, I paraphrase, "al queda should not feel they've won; Iraqis should not feel worried, troops should not feel abandoned," etc., should of course be read, "al queda should celebrate their victory, Iraqis should feel worried, troops should feel abandoned."

I can't complain that the Democrats ran on the platform that Iraq is a disaster and unworthy, or that the New York Times ran a propaganda campaign on the same platform; if that's the path to power, that's the path that will be followed, and that's what the New York Times does. But I can complain that Republicans don't defend their policies every time they're challenged, and, much more significant, when Bush gives up the ghost immediately upon the loss, my goodness. Even if he had waited a month, it would be better. And then, what does he do? He tells a reporter that he just flat out lied because it was a campaign.

Well, of course.

Posner has a great line in "An Affair of State" about the liar whom everyone knows is lying is the most damaging of all, because it undermines the concept of truth.

Conservatives have had to grin and bear Bush from the first moment he said "compassionate conservatism" (to distinguish it from eat-the-children conservatism) because he won with it. Today everyone has their reward. I still have a kernel of my optimism, but the day just got much, much darker.

Here in Columbus, the sun is shining gamely.