Another Year-End Top Ten: Bush "Misleads"

Since Misleader.org (a project of MoveOn) started putting out the "Daily Mislead," a daily email that exposes some lie or other form of misleadership eminating from the Bush administration, I have become angrier and angrier but feel a little overwhelmed in the face of so much ammunition. After seeing so many trivial and tired year-end "Top Ten" lists (like the Ten Best Stephen King Books Published in 2003 or Ten Most Trampy Outfits of Britney Spears), I decided to write a Top Ten of my own derived from the Misleader archives (I chose not to do a review of all of the President's misdeeds, since it would be difficult for me sift through the thousands of related articles for the entire year and well...I guess I'm lazy).

Top Ten Bush Misleads of 2003 (plus a few days into 2004)

1. Dude, he lied about the uranium.
SOTU Uranium Claim Exposed by Bush Advisory Board (1/5/2004)
Related: Bush Administration Oversold Prewar Intelligence to Justify War in Iraq (11/4/2003)

2. It's like "Where's Waldo," only with Weapons of Mass Distruction.
President Bush's Inspectors Find No Weapons to Support his Claims about Imminent Threat (9/25/2003)
Related: One Year Later, the President's Evidence for Going to War remains Illusory (10/8/2003)
Related: Bush Administration Spends Week Retracting Assertions about Saddam's Threat to the U.S. (9/19/2003)
Related: White House Covers Tracks by Removing Information (12/18/2003)

2. He not only ignored the 9/11 warnings, but covered up his knowledge of the warnings after the fact, all the while blaming the intelligence failure on Clinton - and people say he's stupid!
White House Admits Pre-9/11 Warnings; Bush Still Denies It (12/16/2003)
Related: Prominent Republican Challenges President Bush's Vow to "Uncover Every Detail" of September 11th Attacks (10/27/2003)
Related: Administration Grants Restricted Access to President's Intelligence Briefing (11/17/2003)

3. Despite pretensions of sound fiscal policy, he's the biggest spender of them all. He's like a teenager with his first credit card - who does he think is going to pay for all the crap he bought at the mall?
Bush Action on Fiscal Discipline Doesn't Follow Rhetoric (12/1/2003)
Related: More Presidential Deficit Deceit (12/11/2003)
Related: U. S. Comptroller Declares Bush Policies Will Keep Nation Deeply in Debt (10/10/2003)

4. Bush apparently believes we would be as safe from terrorism as the Saudis if he and Ashcroft could just get rid of those pesky civil liberties, as the Saudi royal family has so kindly done for their subjects.
Bush's Monitoring of Protests Undermines Public Support for Free Speech (11/24/2003)
Related: Republican Senator: Bush Administration's Stonewalling on Patriot Act is Like "Big Black Hole" (10/14/2003)

5. Clean air, clean water, trees, and other junk from Mother Nature - who needs it? I mean what we really need is cheap oil, more extensive suburbs in the desert, snowmobiles in Yellowstone, some mercury in our air, and a little cyanide in our water.
Administration Behind Weakening of Mercury Standards in Clear Skies Bill (11/12/2003)
Related: "Clean Coal" Trumps Energy Efficiency in Bush-Supported Energy Plan (11/20/2003)
Related: Ads Promoted Bush's "Clear Skies" to Hispanics But Did Not Disclose Extra Risk for Hispanics (10/20/2003)
Related: President Bush Undermines Clean Air Act with New Source Review Decision (9/17/2003)

6. Why should the government do anything when our corporate friends are so much better at robbing the nation blind?
Halliburton Announces Record Profits While Administration Continues to Rebuff Congressional Oversight (10/31/2003)
Related: Halliburton Contract Extension Canceled Amid Allegations of Overcharging Taxpayers (11/6/2003)
Related: Funding for National Parks Is Diverted to Pay for Privatization (10/30/2003)
Related: Bush's Medicare Plan Seeks to Move Seniors into Private Plans, Doesn't Decrease Prescription Drug Costs (10/29/2003)
Related: Internal Email Reveals Halliburton's Strategy to Combat Accusations of Overcharging the Government (10/24/2003)
Related: With U. S. Troops Still in Mideast, Private Firms Must Guard Military Bases at Home (10/22/2003)

7. Everyone needs a good dose of voodoo economics now and then, right? Even though we have the highest job loss rate since the Great Depression, and giant bills from the endless War on Terror, let's give a massive tax cut to people and corporations who need the money the least. CEO's everywhere are buying Hummers for their children for which your children will pay.
Tax Cuts Lead to Largest Deficit Ever in Complete Reversal of Bush's Prediction (9/30/2003)
Related: President Bush's Tax Cuts Still Not Delivering Jobs as Promised (10/3/2003)
Related: New Push for Corporate Tax Cuts Gives Special Treatment to Multinationals (10/28/2003)
Related: Job Losses at Level of Great Depression Contradict President Bush's Wishful Predictions (9/29/2003)

9. Leaving every child behind, this year and every year.
This Week, Bush Gives Lipservice - Not Funding - To America's Schools (1/7/2004)
Related: Bush Tried to Take Funds from Military School Kids to Pay for Iraqi-Afghan Policies (10/13/2003)
Related: First Lady Promotes Reading but President Leaves Education Dept. Behind (10/7/2003)

10. Dissenters beware - we may feed you to the enemy.
President Bush Presents Two-Faced Reaction to National Security Leaks (10/9/2003)