Abramoff Claims Personal Relationship With Bush
Hmm...
Hard to know what to make of this. It would seem as though someone is lying, but it is hard to know who. But really, why would either lie?
Bush knows that his run-ins with Abramoff were documented. There are pictures and records to prove that. So why would he say he doesn't know the guy? Why would he say that he doesn't remember him? What purpose does such a lie serve? Why not just say, "Yeah, I met him a couple of times" and leave it at that?
Jack Abramoff has no reason to lie either, really. He's already at rock bottom. He can't go much lower, so why lie now? Unless he's doing it out of revenge, I guess. But maybe neither of the two are lying.
Maybe Bush doesn't remember Abramoff because Abramoff was never that important to him. Maybe he said those things about Abramoff's personal life because some on-the-ball White House staffer briefed the President on who Abramoff was and gave him some highlights for small talk before they met? And maybe the President doesn't remember Abramoff because Jack was just one of thousands of big-money contributors he's met and chatted up in his political career.
That sounds the most plausible to me.
WASHINGTON - Jack Abramoff had brief conversations with President Bush almost a dozen times and the president knew him well enough to make joking references to Abramoff's family, according to an e-mail the fallen lobbyist sent a magazine editor.
Bush "joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids," Abramoff recalled of his contacts with the president.
The recipient of the e-mail, Washingtonian magazine editor Kim Eisler, confirmed its contents.
Bush's contacts with Abramoff — who has pleaded guilty in a fraud and bribery case and is cooperating with a public corruption investigation — have become an issue because the president has said he doesn't recall ever meeting the lobbyist.
Time magazine and the Washingtonian have reported the existence of about a half-dozen photos showing Abramoff and Bush together.
The president acknowledged having his picture taken with Abramoff but suggested the photos were of no significance because he is photographed with so many people. Bush said there was no reason to publicly release the photographs.
"I frankly don't even remember having my picture taken with the guy," Bush told a news conference on Jan. 26. "I don't know him."
Hard to know what to make of this. It would seem as though someone is lying, but it is hard to know who. But really, why would either lie?
Bush knows that his run-ins with Abramoff were documented. There are pictures and records to prove that. So why would he say he doesn't know the guy? Why would he say that he doesn't remember him? What purpose does such a lie serve? Why not just say, "Yeah, I met him a couple of times" and leave it at that?
Jack Abramoff has no reason to lie either, really. He's already at rock bottom. He can't go much lower, so why lie now? Unless he's doing it out of revenge, I guess. But maybe neither of the two are lying.
Maybe Bush doesn't remember Abramoff because Abramoff was never that important to him. Maybe he said those things about Abramoff's personal life because some on-the-ball White House staffer briefed the President on who Abramoff was and gave him some highlights for small talk before they met? And maybe the President doesn't remember Abramoff because Jack was just one of thousands of big-money contributors he's met and chatted up in his political career.
That sounds the most plausible to me.
