Well, McGrath, I sure can't argue with that. That is a pretty compelling point. And as far as "lies" go, maybe the worst lies are not the small factual misrepresentations which can be pinned down, or which someone will pin down five or ten years from now and be ignored by the press. Worse are the really big lies, which any fool can plainly see are lies, but which get believed anyway. Like the repeated claims that there is a connection between the Iraqui government and Al Quaeda. Which is entirely baseless, but appeals to mass fears.

I think what is most embarassing to me, as an American, is not jingoism or arrogance, for those are universal phenomena. It is the craven fearfulness which is so easily played on, the plastic and duct-tape. The ease with which Bin Laden succeeded.