Journalist (?) Unsure Whether Lying Damages Bush’s Credibility With Press

When this is the standard reporters are apparently using, it makes you wonder how the truth about anything ever sees the light of day in DC. Apparently, as long as the president has a politically expedient reason for lying his ass off to the whole country, it is no problem.

Days before the election, President Bush told reporters that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney would “remain with him until the end of his presidency, extending a job guarantee to two of the most-vilified members of his administration.”

The day after the election, Bush announced that Rumsfeld was being replaced. Bush admitted that he had talked to Rumsfeld about resigning and was actively searching for his replacement when he promised Rumsfeld would stay on.

Yesterday, NBC’s David Gregory acknowledged that Bush “deliberately misled those reporters.” Russert asked whether that “hurt his credibility with you and the press corps.” Gregory expressed doubt, saying that Bush “laid out his case for why he did it…so I think people see it different ways.”