Patrick’s Rants

The Decline And Fall of Truth

Frank Rich’s book, “The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina” looks at the man behind the curtain in the White House. In a scathing review of a public relations machine run amock Rich details just how poorly Bush has done and how nearly perfectly the PR machine covered up his ineptitude.

In absolute clarity Rich examines the Bush administration, tying George & Co. directly to the bald faced lying Swift Boat Veterans who perfectly unseated John Kerry without having to depend in any way on truth. He exposes the chasing of imaginary WMDs in Iraq. A feat that was accomplished not just by ignoring the intelligence that we had, but by falsifying and creating new evidence that suppported the agenda of the administration in “taking out” Saddam. The idea that Republicans were making us safer by capturing terrorists and foiling plots against the United States was much in play in the 2004 election year. Increased terror alerts were a constant, fear the great motivator. This while the administration artfully claimed that Democrats are somehow weaker.

While the White House brought out larger and larger banners to proclaim and enforce the Bush message of the day the peek behind the curtain tells a far more sinister tale. It is a tale of deceit, artfully played by a man whom Rich proclaims only purchased his ranch to give him the air of a blue collar man.

This book is a brilliant exposé, sure to anger even the mellowist of centrists. The press should take notice. While not as “sexy” as Clinton’s escapades, this should end in impeachment and jail time for the entire Administration. Deliberately misleading the public and the world to exact revenge is not what real leaders do.