Rating: 
Summary: Words, Mistakes and Deceptions
Review: Ok lets face it, if you are reading this review you are either a person that likes President Bush a great deal and are simply reading this review to provide me with a negative vote hoping it will get me and my kind to stop buying books like this. Or you dislike president Bush so much that you have actually removed the shrubs in your front yard and have made it a family rule that you will never visit Texas again. For those of you in the latter group this book is for you, well maybe not. The anti-Bush book biz is in high gear and has already produced some very funny and insightful books, but unfortunately, this is not one of them. The book is dry, Death Valley in August dry. There are no zippy partisan one liners or laugh out loud parody chapters. Nope, this is a "just the facts' kind of book. The author has taken what appears to be every public statement Jr. has made and listed out the ones that held untruths (commonly referred to as lies by the author) and detailed out the true state of affairs. The writing is at times bland with it falling into wooden far too often. But enough of the negatives, the book does offer a wonderful listing of lies that the President and his administration have used to pass the tax cuts all the way up to the Iraqi War. What the book lacks in readability it more then makes up for in detail and volume. My only complaint about the details covered is that I think the author was a little harsh on Bush when he dealt with the war in Afghanistan and 9 - 11. Again, I am no fan of President Bush, but even I thought some of the examples were nitpicking. He is a politician and they do need to make some general and overly positive statements at times. The sections of the book on the tax cuts and what they are really doing to the deficit and the effect on the middle class is worth the price of the book alone. Throw in the detail on the sale of the Iraqi war and you have yourself a bargain of a book. If you buy the book in order to get details and learn something, then you will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Presidential Dishonesty
Review: Author David Corn is a journalist, with contributions to the Nation, Fox News, and several influential newspapers. He has followed the actions of many important leaders during his time in the media. In this book, he presents and elaborates on some of the numerous lies told by President George W. Bush. Corn begins this book by explaining to the reader that all U.S. presidents have done their fair share of lying and he provides examples for a few of them, making sure to cover both Republicans and Democrats so that the reader can see that he is not strictly anti- GOP. Then, he gets into the heart of the book by first presenting Bush's lies when he was governor, followed by Bush's countless lies he had told when he was a candidate for president, all the way through his first few years as president. Corn devotes separate chapters to different areas of lying. There is a chapter or two on the Bush tax plan, one on his position on stem cell research, one on the Enron scandal, and a few others. But the topic that receives the most coverage in this book is that of the military and, more specifically, the war against Iraq. Corn shows the endless barrage of lies that came from the Bush White House during this time, starting with the fibs about the reasons to go to war (like the weapons of mass destruction claim), then leading to the grossly understated cost of the war and the dishonesty about the casualties and the peace process to rebuild the nation of Iraq. In each chapter, Corn highlights some of the key lies in boldface text, and he places them before the paragraph that the quote appears. There are more lies in this book than just those told by George W. Bush himself. The lies include those told by other members of the Bush administration, like Powell, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others. Corn does an effective job in his uncovering of these many untruths and with his explanations about each lie. He presents the quote, then he backs up his claim that the quote was false by presenting other quotes and facts that directly contradict what the president or one of his team said. He manages to be respectful throughout the book (as respectful as an author can be, given the subject) and he points out that Bush has told the truth sometimes, too. But the main idea of this book is that Bush is as good of a liar as anyone who has ever held the White House and he will tell any lie necessary if it means getting what he wants. If there is any complaint that I have about this book, it would have to be the fact that most of what it talks about is now old news. Most people already know about the deceptions and falsehoods surrounding the war against Iraq, the Bush tax plan, and other topics. Thus, for those readers who try to stay in tune with the latest political happenings, there won't be very much new to read in this book. Also, in some instances, Corn really seems to be splitting hairs. With a few of the quotes, he tries to make them out to be something far more radical than their speaker intended them to be. I like the way Corn ends the book by presenting some possible explanations on why presidents and other politicians tell so many lies and why the media has been so soft on George W. Bush. Corn feels that journalists need to come down harder on the president and force him to admit the truth. This final chapter is good for those who want a little more insight on why lying is so commonplace and why no one does much about it, although it doesn't go very in- depth in finding an answer. Politicians have always told lies. Nothing is going to change this fact in the foreseeable future. George W. Bush has told more than his share of presidential falsehoods and David Corn exposes many of them in this book, with analysis of each lie, along with facts and quotes to back up his assertion that George W. Bush is one of the greatest liars to ever occupy the oval office. The book isn't perfect, but Corn does present a good resource for the politically misinformed, showing how one man and his administrative team can effectively deceive and mislead the people and change the course of history in the process.
Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS REQUIRED READING BEFORE VOTING
Review: Our Founding Fathers intended the voters to be educated about the issues when they cast their votes and there is no better way to fulfill this mandate than to educate oneself about the pattern of lies of the Bush regime. The sentence in this book that should stick with all voters is: "A liar in the White House is a national security threat." This is all that any voter needs to know to know that the right thing for America is to kick out the man who gained access to the White House by the POLITICAL decision of the U. S. Supreme Court on December 12, 2000.
Rating:
Summary: Not "just politics"
Review: This book has certainly riled some emotions in both directions. Even my sister-in-law, one of the few "liberals" in her family, was turned off by the title, assuming the book was a diatribe from either the left or the right, of little intellectual substance. That it is not. Indeed, the book is more "conservative," i.e., giving Dubya a little more leeway than I think it should--and than some of its detractors who haven't read it think! Sure, people will tell you, lying is the nature of politics. To that I respond first that it only is if we put up with it. Then there are degrees of lying. Bill Clinton claimed he hadn't had relations with Lewinsky; and George W. Bush said that his former buddy, Saddam Hussein, had an arsenal of weapons he didn't have. And that became the pretext for a preventive war not unlike those the Third Reich staged in Poland, etc. Which is a greater lie? Corn starts the book with a brief explanation of why he was compelled to write it: when any Democrat--especially Al Gore--said anything even a smidgen out of line, the press attacked him like he was the biggest liar since Nixon. Yet Dubya gets away with enormous lie after enormous lie after enormous lie. Incidentally, the same seems to apply to 2004. Howard Dean--or now John Kerry--says anything and his words are dissected, scrutinized with an eagle eye. In the meantime, Rove's lieutenant Dubya spouts off repeated right-wing diatribes with nary a challenge. It makes a person wonder about the integrity of the mainstream media (nonexistent); in short, how much of what you read is composed by seasoned PR flacks (at least 60 percent.) Each chapter discusses a particular subject on which Dubya has spewed out some off-the-scale nonsense. The first chapter is simply "A Dishonest Candidate," which covers in eye-opening detail Dubya?s blatant lies even before he ran for president. That was followed by "A Dishonest Campaign." I could go into some detail here as to what those lies are. But that would discourage you from reading the book which will be a weapon against the Bush campaign in 2004. Each chapter is broken into specific quotes that Dubya has made--and which his actions have contradicted. Well, as I've said to many, if you read yourself to sleep at night, this isn't the book to read. It'll keep you awake, night after night. What are your major complaints? Huge taxbreaks for the wealthy while we face a multi-trillion dollar deficit? Dubya denying any relationship with Enron's Ken Lay while the close personal and business relationship goes back for years? Childish reflections on why goblin d'jour bin Laden dislikes the old red-white-and-blue? A spoiled brat who got into the Air National Guard while waiting lists were thousands long? Then didn't show up to serve? All this and more are yours with the rhetoric of the Bush people. Suffice it to say Corn has a lot of information to list and collate. He cleverly and appropriately refers to Bush in a few places as a "serial liar." Corn completes the book with a question: How does Dubya get away with it? Corn goes over some of the usual accusations with which I agree. For instance, the many representing the media really are quite lazy. But some are also afraid of being locked out of the White House press corps if they challenge even some of Dubya's more blatant nonsense. That at least has more of a level of honor to it than simple laziness, that trait characteristic of the punditocracy, i.e., journalists presumed to be in-the-know because of their credentials or alleged status as a political insider. I suppose I wish I could say more. But much has been said, and, again, more details may give too much away discouraging you from reading this fine text (and pondering the consequences of the 2004 election.) There is much to read in the reviews, though, as many an Amazon reader will concede. I'm amused, for example, by some reviewers who'd lose to Dan Quayle in a spelling bee who spout off what they think are articulate comments on something they haven't the IQ to read. Then there's the one who brings attention to my comments--often several times in a row on one book he hasn't the capacity to read let alone understand. Love the capital letters. What he worry? Read this fine book...AND read the negative comments. Then vote in 2004 based on abstractions like truth. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the Most Thorough of the Bush Critiques
Review: With this impressive book, David Corn has done an exceptional job of marshalling the facts to prove that GW Bush is, in fact, the most mendacious of all of our presidents. What sets this book apart is that Corn goes back and combs over the string of questionable military service, failed oil businesses, leveraged baseball deals, and shameful crony capitalism and pandering to reactionary interests as both Texas Governor and finally...ugh....President. Corn is quite thorough and he has a snappy writing style that retains the reader's interest. Unlike Conason's book or even Al Frranken's book, Corn's treatment is more cohesive, and doesn't read like a series of vignettes. Additionally, Corn thoroughly documents his sources, and indeed, his notes could serve as a deep well of opposition research for a campaign or a 527 that is trying to rid our country of this scourge in the West Wing. Overall, Corn's book is well worth reading. Unless you're the kind of knuckle dragging paleo-conservative who would still vote for Bush after all he's done to our country, then I'm sure you'll find it convincing also.
Rating:
Summary: Sobering examination of Bush's war on America.
Review: George W. Bush, who was appointed president by five ideologues on the US Supreme Court after losing the 2000 election to Al Gore, has been arguably the most disastrous president of the last 100 years, and certainly one of the two or three worst in our history. From the most dismal economic record since Herbert Hoover to slaughtering American soldiers in a bogus war for Halliburton, Bush has demonstrated that his true intentions are the subjugation of the American people on behalf of special interests and his fellow evangelical Christians. His lies have been relentless and blatant. In this book, David Corn examines only some of them in a 300-plus-page inventory of deceit, treason, and contempt for the US Constitution. Though it does not make for pleasant reading, I recommend this book to all Americans as a wake-up call about the true nature of the Bush regime. This cowardly draft-dodging chickenhawk must be held accountable in November. But Americans must be sure to be vigilant when he and his bloodsucking cronies try to steal the election. Again.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but not in the level of the Ivins/Dubose books
Review: As a one-time reader of the Nation, I was curious to see what Corn had dug up on Dubya. Unfortunately, it's more same-old, same-old. As much as I dislike Bush, the liar thing is getting old; everyone knows he's a liar. Other than the overly-bombastic Moore, no one is addressing Bush's critical failures in defense, his moral turpitude, or his ties to the Saudis. In closing, can anyone explain what this means? "To educate how low-mindedly UNCONSCIENTIOUS this yellow-journalism is, obese Michael Moore's tripe runs chances of impersonating more 'credibility'-at least his crap's got maltreated 'sources' which he faultily contrives as 'arguments'."
Rating:
Summary: Good Premise, But Needed More Backup
Review: I opened this book thinking that President Bush probably exagerrated the fears of biological and chemical weapons in Iraq so he could pursue a vendetta. With each passing day, I suspect that my suspicions are correct. I also recognize, however, that almost all politician stretch the truth to accomplish political goals. It may be a necessary evil of creating and maintaining public opinion. Mr. Corn's book convinced me, however, that President Bush has done much more than stretch the truth. He has disregarded facts in some cases and turned his attention away from the facts in many others, particularly when endorsing his tax cut policy. In an elected position of trust, I worry about the credibility of the information that Mr. Bush is providing to support his goals. My main criticism of this book is that Mr. Corn may have gone too far to make his case. Where there are many areas where he can show that Mr. Bush has overstepped the boundaries of the truth, there are many places where Mr. Corn accuses Mr. Bush of "lying" when that is probably too harsh a word to use. I would also have appreciated more citations to source documents so that I can be sure that Mr. Corn isn't manipulating his data in much the way that he accuses Mr. Bush of manipulating public opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: A gem among the many, many books critical of today's administration and its leader.
Rating:
Summary: True Patriots Must Read
Review: Since 9/11, I have been reading as many books about our presidents as I can. This book is like many others that I have read about George W. Considering everything I have read about Clinton, George Sr., and even Reagan, George W. seems to be getting away with more harmful things than anyone has ever gotten away with since before I was born. Most of the things will actually hurt americans now and in the future. How can the news magazines and tv news people fail us by not reporting on the evil things that GW is doing to us. Some of the things I looked up in the resourses given at the back because they seemed so bad. They are true. I am scared for America. It seems that the conservatives are really liberal and the liberals are really conservative? How can the news people lie so much?
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