Among the accusations made by former anti-terrorism aide Richard Clarke against the Bush White House was the one regarding the administration's alleged obsession with Iraq to the exclusion of the threat from al-Qaeda.  Specifically, Clarke reports that Bush approached him in the White House situation room on September 12 and asked him three times to "look into" Iraq's connection with the attacks, leaving no doubt in Clarke's mind that Bush was only interested in a positive answer. The White House, for its part, has hotly denied that Bush was ever interested in anything but the truth about the assault.  "Some have accused the President of seeking confirmation of a previously-held obsession, but nothing could be further from the truth," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.  "President Bush, or the philosopher-king as we like to call him, has never been interested in anything but the truth for its own sake.  If you doubt me, you can read it yourself." The Dialogues of Bush As Recorded in "The Republic" by Paul Wolfowitz One day Bush encountered some of the other philosophers in the situation room, and Cheney accosted him.  "There has been a terrible assault upon our country!" cried Cheney. "Come, Dick, answer this," queried the President.  "Have you seen these events with your own eyes?  No?  Then how can you know of them?" "I know of them because I have spoken to those who have seen with their own eyes, and from images made by technology," explained the Vice-President. "And do you have personal experience of the reliability of these things?" asked the teacher. "Yes," muttered the veep as he tugged at the hem of his toga.  "In the past, I have seen both TV images and the reality they show, and have been able to see that one is like unto the other.  Just as I have heard these reporters discuss what I have said, and their words were accurate." "So what does this tell you?"  "That if a thing can be trusted in one thing, it can be trusted in another." "You speak wisely."  The President was calculating the value of pi when Anaxagoras, also known as Rumsfeld, rushed in, sandals clattering on the marble floor.  "Teacher!" Gasped Rummie.  "We must discover the cause of these events so that we can take appropriate action." "You appear to be confused," counseled the president.  "Must a man know how he caught his cold before he knows what herbs to drink to cure it?" Rumsfeld slapped his head "Of course not!  Just as a man need not know the name of the wolf that steals his sheep, still may he know to set extra shepherds in the fields!" "And so, do we need to know the cause of these events? " asked the ever-patient President. "Nossir!  On to Baghdad!" Remember, Kids, the part in bold is actual 100% news-flavored media product. The rest is the fakey part. Home                                                                                                     Previous Lines of the Day