I called Alan Colmes the designated milquetoast for FOX News Channel the other day and I gotta eat some crow. My nature is to be snarky (I'm sure you're very surprised), but as John Amato pointed out to me, sometimes you get your point across much easier by holding back the claws. Although his style is not as combative (or frankly, fact-challenged) as his partner, Sean Hannity, it is not some weak-kneed liberal that faces former White House spokesliar Ari Fleischer (now the front man for the equally dishonest Freedom's Watch) with the ugly fact that he is the third biggest liar in the Bush Administration according to a study released recently. He even puts his big lies up on video to make it impossible for Ari to deny that he said it.
Of course, such a practiced liar (and we've got the documentation, let's call a spade a spade) isn't going to just 'fess up right away. In fact, watch Ari go for the tried and true "but the Democrats" defense. So lame...but not nearly as lame as Sean Hannity's response:
FLEISCHER: The only organized campaign I’m aware of is the one this group is part of because you’ll notice they left out all of Bill Clinton’s quotes, Al Gore’s quotes, Tom Daschle’s quotes…
COLMES: But you were the guys running the country.
FLEISCHER: …my point is they were saying…by the way, the Senate was under Democrat control back then…but my point is…[cross talk] They’re making the attack against everybody who said what the CIA had legitimately reported to two administrations. But they’re only attacking Republicans for it. That’s the problem I had with this group. We were wrong, Alan. We’ve always said that. But the Democrats were wrong, we were all wrong and I don’t know why this group leaves out one group and not the other.
HANNITY: I don’t believe…I mean…Ari, I don’t think you were wrong.
Look at that. Facts right in his face--Fleischer ADMITS he was wrong and STILL Hannity denies it. For the record, study authors actually placed quite a bit of responsibility with the media and refrained from counting regurgitations of the lies by Republican or Democratic congresspeople in their count, counting only their origins in the White House.