Larry King Lets Laura Bush Lie To Him

By now you may have heard that during her interview with Larry King, First Lady Laura Bush lamented to her host that newspapers refuse to put good poll numbers for her husband -- that would be the President -- on their front pages. She said, "when they're good polls...you don't see them on the front page."

This is not the first time Mrs. Bush has tried to argue this. She's said it a number of times before, including on Fox News in May.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is simply a lie.

Throughout the Bush Presidency the major papers have been more than happy to put good polls for Bush on their front pages. Just for the fun of it, let's scan a list of articles from the New York Times and the Washington Post trumpeting good Bush poll numbers. Every single one of these was featured on the front page:

1) January 29, 2002, the Post: Bush and GOP Enjoy Record Popularity; Poll Finds Broad Support Despite Doubts on Economy

2) March 11, 2002, the Post: Poll: Strong Backing for Bush, War; Few Americans See Easy End to Conflict

3) July 17, 2002, the Post: Poll Shows Bush's Ratings Weathering Business Scandals

4) Dec. 17, 2003, the Times: Bush's Approval Ratings Climb In Days After Hussein's Capture

5) Dec. 23, 2003, the Post: Bush Gets Year-End Boost in Approval; Poll Shows Dean Surging Among Democratic Rivals

6) March 22, 2003, the Times: Support for Bush Surges at Home, but Split Remains

7) April 20, 2004, the Post: Poll Shows New Gains For Bush; Lead Over Kerry Widens On Issues of Security

8) Sept. 10, 2004, the Post: Bush Support Strong After Convention; Kerry Favorability Rating Plunges in New Survey

9) Sept. 28, 2004, the Post: Poll Shows Bush With Solid Lead; Despite Worries, Voters Cite Lack of Clarity From Kerry

More recently, on June 14th of this year, the Washington Post ran an article -- yes, on page one -- partly about Bush's uptick in polls with this headline: "Spate of Good News Gives White House a Chance to Regroup."

And on June 27th, the Post had this headline on its front page: "Poll Shows Growth In Support For Bush."

You get the idea. If you ever wonder why some conservatives have success persuading people that the media's out to get Bush, consider that Mrs. Bush has repeated this false line (that newspapers won't put good Bush poll numbers on their front pages) in multiple settings, and no on-air host or commentator has to my knowledge ever corrected her falsehood. Needless to say, Larry King didn't, either . Maybe he doesn't mind being lied to, or something.

Adapted from a post at The Horse's Mouth.