corrente

Well, I was all set to cite Dan Froomkin's invaluable White House Briefing column (headline of which is reprinted above) to point out that "unsupported assertion" is a delicate, diplomatic way of saying "baldfaced, God-damned, low-down dirty stinking lie", but checked just in time to see that the esteemed Lambert had the first subject covered in this article handled nicely here.

So we will skip the Unsupported Assertion about links between Sadaam and Osama Bin Forgotten and go straight to the OTHER Unsupported Assertion from the Dear Leader yesterday, in the Rose Garden appearance before the press:

"PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm very mindful about saying, you know, oh, vote for me, I'm more religious than my neighbor. And I think it's -- I think it's perfectly -- I think it's important for people of religion to serve. I think it is very important for people who are serving to make sure there is a separation of church and state."

Sounds good, right? And it would be, except that on the very same day Dear Leader said:

Speaking from the White House via satellite to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, Bush said: "Life is a creation of God, not a commodity to be exploited by man."

Guess he's never heard that fertility clinics charge for their services. Or that the 16-cell embryos he's so anxious to "save" from the fight against Alzheimers, diabetes and other afflictions are routinely flushed down the sink by said clinics.

And while our last Froomquote does not technically fall into the category of "unsupported assertion," it seems relevant on the general subject of character (lack thereof):

Thomas M. DeFrank writes in the New York Daily News: "White House aides [preparing for] President Bush's Normandy visit ordered the Pentagon to erect a $100,000 platform for his entry into a U.S. military cemetery, well-placed sources told the Daily News.

"American taxpayers picked up the six-figure tab for the red carpet, walkway and artificial island hurriedly built over a memorial pool so that Bush...could walk in style to the dais for last week's ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings."

Remember, the Emperator's feet must never touch the common soil.

UPDATE: link to Froomkin fixed. Blogger sometimes sneaks in "br" commands that *I* sure didn't put there....thanks to commenter for tip.