Caveat Emptor

I mentioned in my earlier post that one thing this war has destroyed is the ability of Congress and the people to trust the President on matters of national security. I found this article (on the FoxNews site of all places) that elaborates on that point:

Bush: Congress Shouldn't Have Trusted Rice?

The Bush administration is in the process of establishing a dangerous new precedent in relations between the president and Congress on issues of national security and intelligence -- one that could seriously hamper future presidents of either party.

It’s called caveat emptor (buyer beware).

It goes something like this: If I (the executive branch) provide you (the Congress) with intelligence that proves to be completely wrong and I (the executive branch) exaggerate and hype the meaning of this intelligence and you (the Congress) are gullible enough to vote with me on the basis of this false intelligence and my spin, you are as guilty as sin for your vote and shouldn’t complain to anyone...