When Presidents Lie

The Politico’s Gary Bauer has an interesting story about When Presidents Lie, which wonders if Obama can recover. The answer is “probably not”

For Richard M. Nixon, it was “I am not a crook,” for George H. W. Bush it was “Read my lips: no new taxes” and for Bill Clinton it was “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

Big presidential lies take many forms. What they all share is the potential to sever the bond of trust between a president and the people he was elected to serve—and therefore to destroy a presidency.

And while it may lack the intrigue of Watergate or the Monica Lewinsky imbroglio, “If you like your plan, you can keep it” may very well have a similar effect on Obama: effectively ending his presidency more than three years before it officially concludes.

Here’s a difference: the lies of Nixon and Clinton did not do actual harm to the American People. With Clinton, liberals were able to turn the impeachment around and increase his popularity a bit (remember, Clinton was impeached for lying to a federal grand jury, not his “sexual relations” comment, among other charges). Bush’s lie, which I won’t defend, raised people’s taxes a little bit. Obama’s lie involves most of the citizens of this country.

Also mentioned is Lyndon Johnson’s lie about the Gulf Of Tonkin.

Big presidential lies often prove fatal because, as Eric Alterman wrote in his book When Presidents Lie, “In almost all cases, the problem or issue that gives rise to the lie refuses to go away, even while the lie complicates the president’s ability to address it. He must now address not only the problem itself, but also the ancillary problem his lie has created.”

We can certainly expect the liberal MSM to let the lies die, but they will be back come the 2014 mid-terms, aimed at the Democrats who said the same lies, and linking all Democrats who voted for Obamacare directly with Obama’s lies (this is presupposing that Republicans have the cajones to push it).

Really, trust in Obama is gone, and by his own making. Sure, his Base will never give up on him, at least not till the lies come back and directly affect themselves. The big question is, will the media give up on Obama, and, if not turn on him, like they did with Jimmy Carter, at least refuse to carry his water.

PS: I wrote this post Tuesday morning, never got around to posting it, ans noticed that Ace is discussing how the MSM seem to be excusing Obama’s lies.

Save $10 on purchases of $49.99 & up on our Fruit Bouquets at 1800flowers.com. Promo Code: FRUIT49
If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds.

Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed

5 Responses to “When Presidents Lie”

  1. david7134 says:

    I had a family come in today. They said that there insurance and help for drugs had changed with Obamacare and that there medicine cost had gone from %50 to $500 per month. These were poor folks and $500 is big money to them. I know that elements of Obamacare have not really kicked in yet. But changes are being made and people are getting hurt. Next year will be bad. Then 2015, there will be some really made people.

  2. Conservative Beaner says:

    It’s not just the “If you like your health insurance you can keep it, period” lie, it’s the compiliation of all the lies he has told.

    The video was responsible for the death of our Ambassador in Benghazi.
    Fast and Furious.
    IRS lies.
    Stimulus created jobs.
    Unemployment is less than eight percent.

    Lies and damned lies.

  3. […] thing, just don’t read it right before your Thanksgiving feast or you may lose your appetite.The Pirate’s Cove has more on this from Politico, but in all fairness, at least they wondered if Obama’s […]

  4. Thankful_For_Gumballs says:

    David, you are right. But, the idiots who will forgive Obama will not affected by ObamaCare. Those who are most affected, will still defend him and vote for Hilary next election. The media will place the blame upon “government”. Not upon the Socialists or The One. They will allow those Socialists who voted for this travesty of anti-humanity to skate by.

    MSM have a 20-minute attention span. The LIV have them even shorter.

  5. robert108 says:

    Starting with his reason for imposing obamacare on us, the entire project has been one lie after another. It’s good he got caught with the “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan.”, but that’s just scratching the surface, and it’s only one of his many scandals. We need to keep drilling down, all the way to 2016. BTW, Hillary is responsible for the 4 dead Americans at Behghazi, and should never be President with their blood on her hands.

Pirate's Cove