Who is More Deceptive: Moore or Bush and Co.?

Below is a dialogue (email originally) I carried on with a centrist friend of mine. He rightly points out that Michael Moore is downright deceptive in his films. After reading the following the link he provides, I have to agree. But I argue that Bush and company have used similar techniques to the greater detriment of democracy. My part is in red.

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i didnt see bowling for columbine, but i heard lots about how important and significant it was; i assume you did see it.

id really like to ask you to read this page and tell me what you think about moore did in that film:

obviously, this has implications for how we should view moore's other films; i'll send some other discussions of specifics of F9/11, but i'd like to "cut to the chase" here by quoting something from near the end of the above webpage that i think gets to the most central point to be addressed here:

"The point is not that Bowling [for Columbine] is non-objective, or biased. The point is that it is **intentionally deceptive**."

my reactions:

1) moore is apparently more deceptive than i thought, at least in the bowling for columbine film.

2) i'll continue to watch his films, with a larger grain of salt.

now, i have a report i'd like you to read, which deals with something a bit more important for our democracy than moore's films. it's called "Iraq on the Record: The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq." it's a partisan piece produced by the unites states house of representatives committee on government reform. it's in PDF format below, attached to this message. i'd really like to ask you to read this report and tell me what you think about what bush did in leading the country to war. obviously, this has implications for how we should view bush's other initiatives. i'd like to "cut to the chase" here by quoting something from the introduction that i think gets to the most central point to be addressed here:

The Iraq on the Record database contains 237 misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq that were made by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Powell, and National Security Advisor Rice. These statements were made in 125 separate appearances, consisting of 40 speeches, 26 press conferences and briefings, 53 interviews, 4 written statements, and 2 congressional testimonies. Most of the statements in the database were misleading because they expressed certainty where none existed or failed to acknowledge the doubts of intelligence officials. Ten of the statements were SIMPLY FALSE (my emphasis).

let me tell you my reactions to this report.

1) bush and his cronies are at least as deceptive as michael moore. the crucial difference: thousands of people don't die as a result of the deceptions of the latter.

2) i'll continue to listen to his speeches, as always, with a large grain of salt.