It might be, PDQ, to emphasize that he expected others to deny it despite its truth. It has been known to happen repeatedly under the current Emperor that truths not supporting the administration have been publicly dismissed as falsehoods, because they were inconvenient to the political jim-crackery of the moment. Granted, that is pretty slippery and slimy politics, but it is well documented. There are several posts to this effect in the recently closed Bush thread.

A