Straw Man Arguments

George Bush has taken up the vacuous and highly misleading straw-man argument technique of his courtiers. He counters an argument that no one has made. He disputes a fact that no one has posited.

But by now that's all he has: to lie about his opponents, to pretend he's taking the principled view, to pretend someone said something that everyone disagrees with it so he can explain the virtue of his policies. It's sad when grade-schoolers do it. It's tragic when a President is left no choice but resort to this fallacy in his quest to complete his highly devalued term of office.

It's a lie and a lie about a lie, and it's the most explicit sign imaginable that this president is a complete failure and will go down in history as the worst president ever.

AP takes on the duties here:

WASHINGTON - "Some look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude that the war is lost and not worth another dime or another day," President Bush said recently.

Another time he said, "Some say that if you're Muslim you can't be free."

"There are some really decent people," the president said earlier this year, "who believe that the federal government ought to be the decider of health care ... for all people."

Of course, hardly anyone in mainstream political debate has made such assertions.

Surprised? I'm not.