The President Who Cried Wolf

Click the post title to link to Carpetbagger report for the full article.

The funny thing about presidential credibility is, once it's gone, you can't get it back.

U.S. intelligence obtained what officials said was a stolen Iranian laptop in July. Its contents were reportedly devastating, complete with computer simulations and accounts of experiments that made it clear that Iran was working towards the creation of a nuclear warhead. Americans arranged briefings with officials from Britain, France, and Germany, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency. It didn't go well.

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In other words, for our allies around the world, the word of the United States is about as reliable as that of Iran. The Iranians' denials are viewed with skepticism; the American intelligence is viewed with equal skepticism. They see a dictatorial theocratic regime with terrorist ties and they see us — and they're not sure who to believe.

Over 40 years ago, JFK dispatched his secretary of state to Paris to meet with DeGaulle to discuss the Cuban missile crisis. Before even being shown photographic evidence, DeGaulle waved the pictures off and said, "No, the word of the president of the United States is good enough for me."

Today, there isn't a country on the planet that will accept our word on faith. How many years will it take for the U.S. to recover from Bush's presidency?

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