Lies and Lying Liars: Obama vs. Palin vs. McCain vs. Joe "You Lie!" Wilson

By David Warner on Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 8:33 am

He told Larry King that Obama's language was, boo-hoo, "partisan" — a mantra in the Republican criticism of the speech, even though the party's strategy in debating healthcare has been unrelentingly partisan from the get-go.

But you gotta hand it to John — he's consistent. If he doesn't like Sarah being called a liar, he doesn't like the president being called a liar either. Asked by King about S. Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson's now-notorious "You lie!" outburst during the speech, McCain gave his fellow Republican a stern scolding, saying his behavior was "totally disrespectful, no place for it in that setting or any other, and he should apologize for it immediately." (Which he did, though without acknowledging he was wrong about the "lie" part.)

Important difference to note (thanks to the reliable folks at PolitiFact):

Obama calling Palin a liar: He's right. There is no "death panel" provision in the bill. Sarah made that up.

Joe Wilson calling Obama a liar: He's wrong. The bill does not provide coverage for illegal immigrants.

Just a reminder that people throwing around charges of "liar" should first get their facts straight.

Lies, lies, lies. Lots of them flying around lately, or — more to the point — lots of accusations of lying.

One of the strongest moments in Obama's joint speech before Congress last night was his in-your-face denunciation of "death panel" propaganda:

Some of people’s concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. The best example is the claim, made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. Such a charge would be laughable if it weren’t so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple.

Obama's remarks were clearly targeted at Sarah Palin, who was making "bogus claims" about death panels as recently as yesterday morning.

But Palin's former running mate John McCain tsk-tsked.

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