i like paul krugman, accredited economist at the princeton university and columnist for the NYTimes.

Published in the NYTimes, February 13, 2004

The Real Man

To understand why questions about George Bush’s time in the National Guard are legitimate, all you have to do is look at the federal budget published last week. No, not the lies, damned lies and statistics — the pictures.

By my count, this year’s budget contains 27 glossy photos of Mr. Bush … American flag … Washington Monument … wheelchair … small child … eating turkey with the troops in Iraq …

…the Bush administration tries to blur the line between reverence for the office of president and reverence for the person who currently holds that office. …

The goal is to suggest that it’s unpatriotic to criticize the president, and to use his heroic image to block any substantive discussion of his policies.

…

In fact, those 27 photos grace one of the four most dishonest budgets in the nation’s history — the other three are the budgets released in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

…

There is, as far as I can tell, no positive evidence that Mr. Bush is a man of exceptional uprightness. When has he even accepted responsibility for something that went wrong? On the other hand, there is plenty of evidence that he is willing to cut corners when it’s to his personal advantage. His business career was full of questionable deals, and whatever the full truth about his National Guard service, it was certainly not glorious.

…
full story at NYTimes
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posting from lima 😉