Turkey Accomplished
I don’t much care that President Bush carried around a prop turkey during his photo-op visit to Iraq on Thanksgiving Day. It was a fake event, so a fake turkey doesn’t really bother me.
But then there’s the latest lie, about the British Airways pilot spotting Air Force One. This story has changed more than Michael Jackson’s face already. And it’s strange, because it’s such an inconsequential thing. They had a wildly successful PR stunt, but they had to goose it just a little bit more, and now it’s biting them on the ass. (Well, just a nibble of course, as usual.)
This British Airways thing reminds me of the “Mission Accomplished” sign, that Bush laughingly denied was the work of his staff. Well, it was. And I’m baffled that the administration would go out of its way to tell tiny falsehoods that could be so easily discovered.
Some say they’re pathological, that they don’t know the difference between a lie and the truth. Well, I don’t buy that. I think they are so drunk with power, realizing they can literally do or say anything they want, that it becomes fun. Remember the “Twilight Zone” episode where the small boy could turn anyone in the town into anything he liked? Kind of like that.
What really scares me is that so few people care about these lies, big or small. And when the President is caught stabbing a small child in the neck on the White House lawn, don’t come crying to me. 🙂
I didn’t know the turkey was fake–haven’t seen that news item yet. (Adam, just curious, where did you read that?) How utterly lame. Even Republicans should be able to admit that this proves the event was staged for the media, not done for the troops. (I know the rest of us could smell a stunt from a mile away, but others will take convincing.) The British Airways thing is silly, too. Sheesh.
Jen: I added a link to the original turkey story.
i actually think part of the “telling small easily discovered lies” thing is to lull people into getting used to lies. if the average bush supporter gets a little more okay with a lie that “doesn’t really matter”, they’re just that slightly more amiable when a real lie comes along.
or maybe it’s just to distract people from the big ones.