Compare and contrast

[libertango]

"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
George W. Bush, 17 March 2003

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms Lewinsky."
Bill Clinton, January 1998

Both of these statements now appear to be equally false.

Yet, despite the appearance of both statements to have been lies "with knowledge aforethought," one of the speakers appears to have so far escaped any harm to his reputation -- despite the fact that his lie put thousands of US troops at risk, while the other's was merely a personal peccadillo.

As a conservative once famously said, "Where's the outrage?"

Comments

[hal-obrien.livejournal.com]

John Dean worked as Special Counsel to the President during the Nixon Administration -- essentially, Nixon's personal lawyer. He was one of the star witnesses during the Watergate hearings. Some even believe Dean was the auteur, if you will, of Watergate.

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

Ah! Thank you. I have to admit that at least 50% of what I know about Watergate I found out here (http://www.plaidder.com/waterg.htm) - while the habit of adding "gate" to a noun to name a political scandal got to the UK, the ins and outs of Watergate didn't.