[Silky Voice of The Gorn]

When Bush first started telling the ground zero story, in February of this year, he'd say he remembered walking through the ruins and seeing "a guy pointing at me and saying, 'Don't let me down.'" By March, Bush had the "guy" saying, "'Mr. President, never let me down."

One morning in May, Bush said: "I clearly remember a guy in a hard hat" who said, "'Don't let me down.'" Later that same day, Bush said: "I'll never forget the firefighter that pointed at me and said, 'Don't let me down.'" By June, the "guy" had become a whole group of "tired firefighters and police and rescue workers" who said, "'Don't let us down.'" By July, the "guy" was just a guy again, but Bush couldn't remember which kind: "I remember a fireman or a policeman, I can't remember which one, looking me in the eyes and saying, 'Do not let me down.'"

At about the same time, the guy -- whoever he was -- started getting physical. No longer did he merely point at the passing president; he "grabbed me by the arm," Bush said. One morning in July, Bush said the grabber "was a policeman or a fireman, I don't know which one, but he had tears in his eyes." By that afternoon, the guy had become a "firefighter" again, with "bloodshot eyes and sweat pouring."

And it kept getting better. In early August, Bush said: "I don't know if he was a firefighter or a policeman -- I do know that he was looking through the rubble for one of his buddies." A week after that, Bush said the guy had been searching for "a loved one." One day later, he had been searching for "somebody that he worked with." And the day after that, he was searching for a "buddy" again, but this time he said: "Mr. President, do not let me down." Two weeks later, Bush had him saying, "You don't let me down."

And on Sept. 14, 2004 -- the third anniversary of the president's visit to ground zero -- Bush offered up his most vivid memory yet. "I remember a guy grabbed me the arm, a big old burly firefighter, I guess he was a firefighter, he said: 'Do not let me down.'"

It was, the president said, "a day I'll never forget."

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20...ate/index.html

[RAILhead]

That's right -- I'm sure that no other person at the site in those days ever said anything to Bush along the lines of "Don't let us down." He probably never heard that phrase until that ONE guy said it, and I'm sure NO ONE else said anything like that. Yup. He's lost it. He must be doing alcohol and drugs. That's it, I'm voting for Kerry.



Has it really come down to this?

Maury

[itai195]

I just posted that in the presidential debate thread. Anyway, the point is that Gore was lambasted for fudging the truth in similarly innocent ways back in 2000, yet the mainstream press hasn't really called out President Bush for it. The other day, Bush said the Taliban no longer exists at a campaign rally, obviously that's untrue and a pretty significant fact to screw up.

Here's the relevant continuation of the article:

Bush's fact-challenged ways aren't contained to trivial anecdotes like the ground zero story, of course. Although -- if Bush got as good as he gave Gore, that might be enough to convince the media of his dishonesty. After the first debate in 2000, the Bush campaign and the press hammered Gore for two misstatements. Gore said that he had toured flood- and fire-ravaged Texas with FEMA director James Lee Witt when, in fact, he had toured flood- and fire-ravaged Texas with a FEMA official, and he had toured other disaster locations with Witt. And Gore said that, because of insufficient education funding, a Florida schoolgirl didn't have a place to sit in her science class when, in fact, she had been seatless but received a desk of her own a few weeks before the debate. For this, Gore was slammed in the press, including a "Liar! Liar!" headline emblazoned across the front of the New York Post.

The day after the debate, Bush told Fox News that Gore had a "record, you know, of sometimes exaggerating to make a point." Karen Hughes said Gore's debate performance was part of a "disturbing pattern of the vice president simply making things up."

How "disturbed" would Hughes have been if Gore had told a whopper about something of substance -- say, as Bush did this week. At a campaign rally in Missouri Monday, Bush claimed that, because of U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan, the "Taliban no longer is in existence." The president's pronouncement must have come as news to the troops currently fighting Taliban and al-Qaida members in Afghanistan, and it's directly contradicted by statements made just last week by Republican members of Congress and a Defense Department official familiar with operations in Afghanistan.

How funny is that Hughes quote in light of the exaggerations and fabrications Cheney has been peddling recently.

[Silky Voice of The Gorn]

Originally posted by RAILhead:
[B]That's right -- I'm sure that no other person at the site in those days ever said anything to Bush along the lines of "Don't let us down." He probably never heard that phrase until that ONE guy said it, and I'm sure NO ONE else said anything like that. Yup. He's lost it. He must be doing alcohol and drugs. That's it, I'm voting for Kerry.

C'mon Maury, I expected better from you than this weak contortion of a justification. At least give us one of your cute pictures. I like them.

[SimeyTheLimey]

It was seared, seared into his memory.

[RAILhead]

Originally posted by Silky Voice of The Gorn:
C'mon Maury, I expected better from you than this weak contortion of a justification. At least give us one of your cute pictures. I like them.

Okay, let me post a few...



Oh wait -- that was for a Fark Photoshop. Let's see...





...since we've mentioned Gore already. Now...





Wait -- that's another Fark Forum pic. Hold on...





I like that one a lot. Oh, and I guess I should say that I have sucessfully



this thread with all these pics.

Want more?
Maury

[tie]

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
It was seared, seared into his memory.

LOL, into the black hole.

I don't like it when politicians make up anecdotes. It happens way too often, I think Kerry has done this at least once this campaign (perhaps not as dramatically as Bush, but really there's no way for me to know). It's fraudulent and should be exposed.

The day after the debate, Bush told Fox News that Gore had a "record, you know, of sometimes exaggerating to make a point." Karen Hughes said Gore's debate performance was part of a "disturbing pattern of the vice president simply making things up."

What a jerk.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by RAILhead:
That's right -- I'm sure that no other person at the site in those days ever said anything to Bush along the lines of "Don't let us down." He probably never heard that phrase until that ONE guy said it, and I'm sure NO ONE else said anything like that. Yup. He's lost it. He must be doing alcohol and drugs. That's it, I'm voting for Kerry.



Has it really come down to this?

Maury

So you really believe that him changing the story every time is just his recollection of a different guy? He doesn't even know if it's a firefighter or policeman in some of those versions.

Come on, this isn't exactly a nail in Bushes coffin. My dad tells stories differently every time, going with whatever works. At least I don't go around saying he doesn't! Give me a break. What kind of apologist are you? That is a true "Bush can do no wrong." response by you.

[Xeo]

He said it again today. Didn't catch exactly which version cause I was reading the forums at the same time, but he was grabbed by the arm this time.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Originally posted by RAILhead:
That's right -- I'm sure that no other person at the site in those days ever said anything to Bush along the lines of "Don't let us down." He probably never heard that phrase until that ONE guy said it, and I'm sure NO ONE else said anything like that. Yup. He's lost it. He must be doing alcohol and drugs. That's it, I'm voting for Kerry.



Has it really come down to this?

Maury

He is telling the SAME story each time. It was his most memorable moment and yet you think it was several people saying the same thing to him? LOL What a fanboy.

[itai195]

Originally posted by tie:
What a jerk.

Indeed. But they made up for it this year, as both candidates seemed to make a few things up last night. It's interesting that the label stuck to Gore (probably thanks to the 'I invented the Internet' comment that he never actually said), and newspapers called him a liar all for those little mistakes when this year it's scandalous that 'the left' thinks Bush is a liar.

[itai195]

double post

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by Xeo:
He said it again today. Didn't catch exactly which version cause I was reading the forums at the same time, but he was grabbed by the arm this time.

Is it even possible for someone the President of the United States doesn't know to grab him by the arm? Especially at such a chaotic scene of ground zero?

I don't blame Bush for getting the details mixed up. I just wonder, if Bush can get details from 3 years ago mixed up, how much more mixed will those details get in 30 years?

[Stradlater]

Originally posted by RAILhead:
Okay, let me post a few...
[pics]
Want more?
Maury

Mauri your sig is too big. One line of text when you have an image. Blank lines count.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by Wiskedjak:
Is it even possible for someone the President of the United States doesn't know to grab him by the arm? Especially at such a chaotic scene of ground zero?

I don't blame Bush for getting the details mixed up. I just wonder, if Bush can get details from 3 years ago mixed up, how much more mixed will those details get in 30 years?

That definitely crossed my mind. Where was the SS? haha

Originally posted by Stradlater:
Mauri your sig is too big. One line of text when you have an image. Blank lines count.

A suggestion to Maury, just link the image to the website. Then you can get rid of the text. The image relates to the website so it makes sense in my head.