Posted on: Wednesday, August 13, 2003

EDITORIAL
Bush White House: pattern of deception?

The jury is still out, of course, on whether President Bush misled Congress and the nation about the war in Iraq. But critics are beginning to suggest that White House tactics in the run-up to the war are part of a sadly broader pattern of misdirection and spin.

That clearly was the message from Hawai'i Democratic Congressman Ed Case, a moderate who came into office ready to give the Bush administration the benefit of the doubt. But in a talk to publishers yesterday, Case argued that, at least on environmental issues, there "has not been an administration this bad in decades."

Environmental watchdogs shake their heads at the Bush administration's "awesome message discipline." Wrote Kymberly Escobar of Environet: "No matter what the facts, no matter what the argument, spokespeople just keep saying whatever they've decided the message should be."

As she was leaving office, Christine Todd Whitman released a "Draft Report on the Environment" in which she saw "a real record of success in cleaning up and protecting our nation's environment" — despite her own private struggle with the White House.

We've seen stepped-up logging in the name of forest fire safety, watered-down references to climate change, covered-up data on clean air and global warming bills and exaggerated claims of drinking water safety.

The EPA's inspector general is investigating whether the agency deliberately misled the public by reporting discredited numbers of Americans enjoying safe drinking water. Meanwhile, the White House stripped Whitman's report of long sections acknowledging global warming.

The EPA is just one of the agencies that the White House is transforming from a once-reliable source of information into another political spin operation. Where else do we see this pattern? The CIA, the National Institutes of Health, the Treasury Department, and more.

"Even if you aren't bothered by an administration that systematically misleads the public," wrote liberal economist Paul Krugman, "you ought to be worried about the decisions of an administration that systematically misleads itself. A leader who is told only what he wants to hear is all too likely to make bad decisions about the economy, the environment and beyond."