"His Lips Are Moving"

Just feeling a little ornery this morning, from things like this:

President Bush, yesterday at his press conference:

The "Mission Accomplished" sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished. I know it was attributed some how to some ingenious advance man from my staff -- they weren't that ingenious, by the way.

According to Army Times:

Navy officials and the White House yesterday said that while the crew of the Lincoln came up with the banner’s message, the White House printed it.

“The Navy asked for help in the production of the banner for the president’s visit. So we helped,” said White House spokesman Allen Abney.

The crew felt the banner reflected their recent operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq, according to Navy officials and the White House.

The Navy’s spokesman, Rear Adm. T McCreary, said, “The White House communications office did print it at the ship’s request.”

The White House communications office, well known for the care it takes with the backdrops at Bush speeches, created the “Mission Accomplished” banner in the same style as banners the president uses in other appearances, including one just a week before the carrier appearance in Canton, Ohio. That banner, with the same soft, brush-stroked American flag in the background and the identical typeface, read: “Jobs and Growth.”

The link has a nice picture comparison, showing how the "Mission Accomplished" banner had the same background design as other White House event banners.

In light of the fact that the trust of the American people, not to mention of allies around the world, is sorely needed in order to get us out of this mess, making stuff up has to stop.

Thank you.

[Edited to add the following]

I read this Oliver Willis piece on this subject after I entitled this entry. Honest!

[Edited to also add the following]
Steve Gilliard noted something about this late yesterday, which is an interesting insight:

I just wanted to say how this is a typical alcoholic's lie. Instead of accepting responsibility, he shifts blame to the crew of the Lincoln, who have previously shown no evidence of using mylar banners to celebrate other events. ... Of course, since this is a specialized kind of printing, one not commonly needed on a carrier, and one the president uses frequently, well, it's obvious that the story is a lie.

But why lie? Because he's a dry drunk and he lies about anything when pressed. His life is a series of lies. He cannot accept responsibility for anything. Any problem is someone else's fault. Never his. So instead of accepting that he did something which didn't work, he'll blame the innocent and expect them to remain silent.

What's the real reason? I don't know, but this is starting to get disturbing.