But the one thing throughout this period that Americans could always depend on, even after Nixon and the collapse of public faith in the president's morals, was that the lies the American president told would always be the very best lies that science, computerized research, and Washington's most devious spooks could produce. Our president may lie, but he will lie effectively and spectacularly, with all the epic stagecraft and lighting and special effects available to the White House publicity apparatus. He is never a hack, never a half-assed, off-the-cuff, squirming, my-dog-ate-my-homework sort of liar. Or at least he wasn't until George W. Bush came around.
"They hate us for our freedom" was possibly the dumbest, most insulting piece of bullshit ever to escape the lips of an American president.
--Matt Taibbi, The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire, due for release May 6, 2008
And with that thought, this thread is officially declared open.