On the timber company, I hadn’t seen the correction. Regardless, I’m sure we could agree that W has made some whoppers over the course of his career, and the media usually treat it lightheartedly.

Re: timber

From Mediamatters of all people:

Correction: FactCheck.org has clarified its earlier assertion that the $84 in question on Bush’s 2001 tax return came from “his part ownership of a timber-growing enterprise.” As explained above, the $84 came from Lone Star Trust, which was involved in oil and gas in 2001 and had not yet entered the timber industry. We corrected this item as soon as we saw FactCheck.org’s clarification.

Consider the episode in the 2004 debates where Kerry mentioned that W owned some shares in a lumber company. W retorted with his characteristic snicker and laugh: “I own shares in a lumber company? Heh Heh! Anybody want any wood?”

Turns out that he does own shares in a lumber company. So, not only is this an abject lie, but a lie designed to make someone else look foolish. Yet, there was almost no response from the media. The attitude seems to be that the poor guy is kind of slow, so let’s just leave him alone.

Had Al Gore or Hillary Clinton made the same mistake, the media would have shouted it from every mountaintop, just like they relentlessly mocked every one of Al Gore’s minor misstatements.

The media may be critical on W’s war policy, but he himself is allowed to make an infinity of asinine remarks and outright lies with only a minimum of attention.

But I understand Publius. Im sure you have told your classes that they “will all be receiving failing grades and expelled from the university”, meaning of course “the class did well on the exam, the average was an 83″. Jeez, what liberals will defend…..

This is turning into the 2000 election again, where Al Gore was lambasted mercilessly for every minor misstatement, but GWB received a seemingly unlimited number of free passes for flagrant mistakes and outright prevariacation because — oh — the silly oaf doesn’t know any better.