Bush never went to Houston Space Center

Since Bush's lying seems to be the theme of the day, there's this story courtesy of Third Party in the message boards.

A day after telling reporters that Bush had visited Johnson Space Center while serving as governor of Texas in the 1990s, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer backpedaled from that assertion.

"I think right now it's somewhat murky," the press secretary said aboard Air Force One Tuesday, en route to a memorial service for the seven Columbia astronauts who died in last weekend's tragedy.

[...]

Fleischer said Tuesday that after further review, Bush's staff could find no record of the visit. "Johnson Space Center says that he did not go there, and I'm not able to find the exact date. So that's why I say it's murky," Fleischer said.

"To the president's recollection, he thinks he has been there," his spokesman said, adding that Bush's staff from Texas also thought they recalled such a visit.

The spokesman said Bush has never seen a NASA launch or landing, in part because there are so many other beautiful things to see in the country that he has yet to explore.

Like Crawford, Texas, about six months out of the year.

Bush's lack of intellectual curiosity is astounding. In his two terms as governor Bush didn't bother to visit perhaps the most prestigious employer in the state (we're talking rocket scientists here!), even though the Johnson Space Center is located in Houston.

And then he lied about it.

So will Bush be getting the Gore treatment? It's obvious the press ignores his substantive lies about Iraq and the budget. But will they jump all over this trivial lie (as they did on Gore's FEMA trip, or prescription drugs for his dog, or the bogus Internet story)?

I wouldn't hold my breath.

Posted February 05, 2003 09:20 AM | Comments (31)