Whopper of the Week: Howard Dean

Slate ^ | 13 December 2003 | Timothy Noah

[Spiff]

Whopper: Howard Dean
Oh, that bizarre and irresponsible remark!
Timothy Noah
Posted Saturday, Dec. 13, 2003, at 7:08 PM PT

Scott Spradling, WMUR-TV: Governor Dean, you had once stated that you thought it was possible that the president of the United States had been forewarned about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You later said that you didn't really know.

A statement like that, don't you see the possibility of some Democrats being nervous about statements like that leading them to the conclusion that you are not right for being the next commander in chief?

Howard Dean: Well, in all due respect, I did not exactly state that.

—Exchange at the Democratic presidential debate in Durham, N.H., Dec. 9.

Julie from Traverse City,* Mich.: [O]nce we get you in the White House, would you please make sure that there is a thorough investigation of 9/11, and not—

Dean: Yes.

Julie:—stonewall it?

Dean: There is a report which the president is suppressing evidence for which is a thorough investigation of 9/11.

Diane Rehm, WAMU (public) radio: Why do you think he's suppressing that report?

Dean: I don't know. There are many theories about it. The most interesting theory that I've heard so far, which is nothing more than a theory, I can't—think it can't be proved, is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis. Now, who knows what the real situation is, but the trouble is that by suppressing that kind of information, you lead to those kinds of theories, whether they have any truth to them or not, and then eventually they get repeated as fact. So I think the president is taking a great risk by suppressing the clear, the key information that needs to go to the Kean commission.

—Exchange on The Diane Rehm Show, on WAMU in Washington, Dec. 1.

Discussion. In answering Spradling at the New Hampshire debate, Dean failed to acknowledge his Diane Rehm Show appearance, in which he introduced the bizarre and irresponsible accusation that Bush got advance warning about 9/11 (ostensibly as an example of the kind of speculation Bush lends credence to by not cooperating with the Kean commission). Dean's denial that he said what Spradling said he said is false and dishonest if you take the Diane Rehm appearance into account. Spradling's summary of Dean's remarks was more than adequate, with the trivial caveat that Dean said then and there (and not "later") that he didn't know whether the rumor was true.

Instead of talking about the Diane Rehm Show appearance, Dean pretended, at the New Hampshire debate, that the subject first came up when he appeared on Fox News Sunday six days later:

I was asked on Fox "fair and balanced" News that—

[Audience laughter.]

—I was asked why I thought the president was withholding information, I think it was, or 9/11 or something like that. And I said, well, the most interesting theory that I heard, which I did not believe [italics Chatterbox's], was that the Saudis had tipped him off. ... I did not believe [italics Chatterbox's], and I made it clear on the Fox News show that I didn't believe [italics Chatterbox's] that theory, but I had heard that. And there are going to be a lot of crazy theories that come out if the information is not given to the Kean commission as it should be.

By the time Dean appeared on Fox News Sunday, someone had obviously pointed out to him that his conspiracy-mongering on Diane Rehm made him sound like a nut. So, on Fox, Dean made sure to say what he most crucially had not said on Diane Rehm—i.e., that he did not believe this rumor that he was passing on.

Incidentally, on Fox News Sunday, Dean wasn't asked "why I thought the president was withholding information" or "something like that." He was asked (by Chris Wallace) why he'd made that embarrassing gaffe on Diane Rehm, and whether, in light of what he'd said, he was "up to being commander in chief." Wallace even played the Diane Rehm clip. Two days earlier, Charles Krauthammer had savagely attacked Dean for what he said on Diane Rehm and pointed out that when Cynthia McKinney made the same accusation in 2002 it ended her career in Congress. So, it's inconceivable that in his New Hampshire debate remarks Dean sincerely forgot, or misremembered, what he said on Diane Rehm.

Ironically, if Dean had answered Rehm's question more carefully, he could have stated truthfully and non-hysterically that the Bush administration did receive various hints prior to 9/11 that something was afoot. These have already been documented. (Remember National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's description of pre-9/11 "chatter in the system," including a warning from the Federal Aviation Administration in July that terrorist groups might be planning hijackings?) Where Dean went astray was in failing to make clear that these advance warnings were not very specific.

[Spiff]

As my children are so fond of saying (instead of Liar, liar, pants on fire...):

Lie! Lie! Big and fat!
You lie like a Democrat!!

[Howlin]

Instead of talking about the Diane Rehm Show appearance, Dean pretended, at the New Hampshire debate, that the subject first came up when he appeared on Fox News Sunday six days later:

Finally somebody put that in writing.

Of course, this was LAST week's big lie; this week's big whopper is:

"The capture of Saddam has not made America safer."

Man, I hope this guy wins their nomination.

[Qwinn]

I heard a rumor today. It's a very interesting rumor. You see, Howard Dean took campaign funds from the French government during his last governor's election in return for handing over American sovereignty to international organizations should he ever be elected President. This would explain why in 1998 he said "The French will always do exactly the opposite on what the United States wants regardless of what happens, so we're never going to have a consistent policy,", in direct contradiction to the policies he is advocating now.

Now, I don't know if this is true or not. Let me be clear - I don't actually -believe- this. It's just a theory I've heard, a very interesting rumor. Unfortunately, since Governor Dean has placed all the records of his governorship under seal, well, it's unfortunate that such speculation is allowed to exist. Note that I clearly said that I do -not- necessarily believe this is true, so you can't say that I'm "spreading" this rumor. If you state that I am guilty of spreading unfounded rumors, you are simply a shill for the liberal "fair and balanced" media.

Qwinn

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

One of the pillars of the democrat propaganda machine has been the use of the "There's a theory out there..." line, which enables them to say virtually anything about anybody without fear of reprisal because, "Hey, it's not my theory, I'm just repeating something I heard."

It allows them to get ugly innuendoes into the public purview without having to answer any serious questions, such as, "What is the probability that the theory is true?" or "What is the source upon which you base your accusation?"
It is a cowardly tactic, typical of the left. I am glad Dean is being called on it.

[Aracelis]

Dean: I don't know. There are many theories about it. The most interesting theory that I've heard so far, which is nothing more than a theory, I can't—think it can't be proved, is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis.

Egads! The man doesn't know the difference between a hypothesis and a theory! No way should this man even take a breath in the Oval Office.

Sheesh! The existence of gavity is theoretical...but we've got pretty good evidence that it's real. Dean's load of manure doesn't even have the temporal substance of Clinton's most vivid fantasy.

[Peach]

Dean: “I never said Saddam was a danger to the United States. Ever.”

Mara Liasson: “In fact in September of 2002, Dean said exactly that. On the CBS program Face The Nation, Dean said “there is no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat to the United States.” [NPR, 12/11/2003]

[EQAndyBuzz]

Can someone tell me when Dean stopped beating his wife?