Just to add a bit to yesterday’s list of lies from the VP debate, I’ve since found a few more of Dick Cheney’s whoppers.
“Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the president of Senate, the presiding officer. I’m up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they’re in session.”
No, he’s not. In fact, he’s only presided over the Senate twice in the last four years. (I guess it depends on what the meaning of “most” is.)
“Your hometown newspaper has taken to calling you ‘Senator Gone.'”
No, it hasn’t. There’s a small paper in Pinehurst, NC — which isn’t Edwards’ hometown — which did refer to Edwards that way. But the paper only used the phrase once, 15 months ago. And as the newspaper’s editorial board said yesterday, it hasn’t “‘taken to calling him’ anything.”
“The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.”
This was quickly debunked yesterday, but it turns out that there are photographs of the two meeting at least three times before the debate.
The Bush campaign says these meetings don’t count because they didn’t take place through the course of Senate business. One of them did, of course, but there’s a bigger problem: Edwards and Cheney have been in the Senate at the same time on several occasions, but they didn’t meet because Cheney won’t talk to Democrats.
As the LA Times explained:
[Cheney] does attend the GOP senators’ weekly luncheons to discuss party strategy. But only Republicans attend, and Cheney usually breezes into the building, goes to the meeting, then leaves without hobnobbing with Democrats.
In fact, Cheney was teased by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) for only associating with Republicans when, in an encounter on the Senate floor, Cheney cursed at Leahy.
There are a few problems here. One is the fact that the vice president seems to state falsehoods almost uncontrollably. But the other is even more disconcerting: he lies about small things when the truth would be just as effective.
This appears to be a man with a problem. Hopefully, he’ll have a chance to get some help after he’s retired from government in January.