I’m sure this wasn’t easy for them. White House officials tend to insist that all Bush statements are inherently right, even when they’re wrong, by virtue of Bush saying them.
Fortunately, however, the White House admitted yesterday that Bush was wrong about mustard gas found in Libya when he spoke on the issue during this week’s press conference.
Once again, President Bush misspoke on a weapons issue, telling the nation that 50 tons of mustard gas were found in Libya — twice the amount actually uncovered.
The White House moved quickly Wednesday to correct the record, with press secretary Scott McClellan seeking out reporters to point out the mistake. The president should have said in his Tuesday night address and press conference that 23.6 tons of mustard gas were found in Libya, instead of 50 tons, McClellan said.
Bush used the 50-ton figure twice.
Granted, this wasn’t a terribly important mistake. There were tons of chemical munitions found in Libya; Bush just misstated the actual amount, the location, and the chemical agent. No biggie.
But the fact that the White House moved swiftly to set the record straight on this reminds us that they’ll correct inconsequential misstatements, but will defy common sense and defend obvious whoppers about 9/11, the Iraqi threat, the U.S. economy, etc.
Wouldn’t it be better if they overlooked the trivia and lived up to the serious lies that need correcting?