Fisk: The White House responds

The White House News and Policies Page has started to include fiskings of those editorials and stories in major media that are grossly in error or misleading about the Iraq war issues.

The term fisking honors journalist Robert Fisk who was a frequent target of point by point deconstruction of his writings done in a highly critical manner. Some of the recent Whitehouse fisking efforts include Setting the Record Straight: The Washington Post On Pre-War Intelligence and Setting the Record Straight: The New York Times Editorial on Pre-War Intelligence. These articles are citation and reference quotations in a point counterpoint format. ‘Here is what was asserted’ is followed by ‘here is the real story.’ There is no nuance. Everything can easily be checked and verified. The contrast between the media story and reality is stark.

What has been amazing is the utter mendacity of the assertions about malfeasance. This is shown by the ease with which the White House can garner conclusions from reports or statements made by those in Congress that contradict the assertions and allegations. Compounding the amazement is the response to the revelation of the mendacity. This seems to have the underlying principle that a lie told strongly enough and with sufficient assertiveness coupled with a ‘who me? lie?’ response is sufficient to carry the day. It is a ‘pot calling kettle black’ with punch and verve tactic.