Decision Points: The Rebuttal

Dan Froomkin :The Two Most Essential, Abhorrent, Intolerable Lies Of George W. Bush's Memoir:

"WASHINGTON -- These days, when we think of George W. Bush, we think mostly of what a horrible mess he made of the economy. But his even more tragic legacy is the loss of our moral authority, and the transformation of the United States of America from global champion of human rights into an outlaw nation.

History is likely to judge Bush most harshly for two things in particular: Launching a war against a country that had not attacked us, and approving the use of cruel and inhumane interrogation techniques.

And that's why the two most essential lies -- among the many -- in his new memoir are that he had a legitimate reason to invade Iraq, and that he had a legitimate reason to torture detainees."

Dan Froomkin was famously fired from the Washington Post when he insisted on a journalistic standard that was more rigorous and critical of the media narrative than could be allowed.  He's now the Washington chief for the Huffington Post.

I've always appreciated Dan's work, though I'm not always in agreement with it.  In this case, his thorough reporting over the entire breadth of the Bush Administration comes to bear.  He once again revisits the debates that occurred during the startup of the Iraq War and with the discovery of the Torture program.  I certainly wasn't very difficult for him to review the mistakes and tragic consequences of the Bush policy decisions.

He takes it one important step further however in dramatically stating that the revisionist version of history surrounding these events is now in the public eye and receiving little critical analysis. His fear is that an apathetic public and a do-nothing-about-it Obama Administration will allow this disinformation campaign to succeed.

I'm very glad for Mr. Froomkin's analysis and that it is in a national forum.  It should have been on the front page and it should be Mr. Froomkin sitting with Matt Lauer on the Today Show issuing his rebuttal.

Thanks Dan.