BUSH, WHACKED

Democratic presidential hopefuls are attempting to undercut Pres. George W. Bush's credibility by claiming that he lied in last year's State of the Union address when he said that Iraq had tried to purchase uranium in Africa. The press has fallen hook, line and sinker for this baseless accusation, evidenced by an editorial in today's New York Times, the left-leaning newspaper of record that takes every available opportunity to criticize Bush.

While Bush's presentation of the uranium intelligence may have been unwise, it was certainly not fraudulent. He never said that Saddam Hussein had--beyond the shadow of a doubt-- sought uranium in Africa. What Bush said, verbatim, was "The British government has learned that Iraq recently sought significant quantities of uranium in Africa." Whether Hussein actually scouted for the weapons-grade enriched metal or not is moot, because all Bush did was present intelligence gleaned by the British that had not been confirmed by the Central Intelligence Agency. Thus the attribution to the Brits; if the claim has now been proven false, the source should receive blame, not the messenger.

A stand-in for Rush Limbaugh revealed yesterday that there are two Democratic-produced commercials that will play a soundbite of Bush's uranium quote but leave off "The British government has learned that," thus changing the meaning of the quote and rendering it an unsubstantiated claim; "Iraq recently sought significant quantities of uranium in Africa." Then the word LIE will flash on the screen, followed by headlines touting that Iraq never sought African uranium. This makes Bush appear a spinner of falsehoods when it was his reliance on our allies the British which was suspect.

Bush may have been foolhardy to propagate Britain's claim without confirming it, but that's where his responsibility begins and ends. The Democratic attacks and charges of deceit are baseless; mudslinging political games in which neither side wins. Neither Dems nor Republicans can tromp through the mud and emerge unstained.