Chait in LAT: The right discovers Bush's 'honesty'

[Rose Siding]

IT APPEARS that the scales have fallen from David Frum's eyes. The former Bush speechwriter, and current National Review writer, once had faith in the basic decency and honesty of George W. Bush. But now the president he once served so loyally, and whose honesty he once found above reproach, has done something utterly uncharacteristic. He has presented his policies in a misleading light.

No! you say. This can't be true! But it is. Allow me to quote Frum: "Putting the Guard on the border is a symbolic act…. But I am afraid that in this case the symbolism is manipulative and deceptive."

Deceptive? Bush? He must have the wrong guy. Just a couple of years ago, Frum wrote: "I've always thought it strange that so many on the left have chosen to make an issue of President Bush's honesty. The president is, if anything, almost excessively direct and self-endangeringly truthful."
.....
This outbreak of unflattering conservative insights suggests two possibilities. The first is that, until this moment, Bush never used dishonest tactics to frame his views and those of his critics, and conservative activists never displayed a fanatical aversion to compromise. Somehow, though, Bush and the conservatives are suddenly using tactics against each other that they were too honest and thoughtful to use against the Democrats.

The second possible interpretation is that they've been like this all along, and the conservatives are only starting to notice because for once they're on the receiving end.

I know which interpretation I'm going with.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-chait21may21,1,379696,print.column?coll=la-util-op-ed

[slor]

1. Thanks for posting! n/t