The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town: "There is very little doubt that Bush deserves censure, not only for the warrantless wiretapping but also for the many other catastrophes his Administration has generated, including the manipulation of intelligence to justify the Iraq war, the willful failure to heed warnings of what the invasion's aftermath would entail, the sanctioning of torture, and the neglect of �homeland security to say nothing of a set of domestic policies that sacrifice solvency, safety, the environment, and elementary fairness on the altar of enriching the rich in the name of Christian compassion."
========
This is the liar's technique, especially in politics. Tell it enough times and then you can use it as a base for other arguments. But someone needs to tell Hendrik Hertzberg that just 'cause he says it, doesn't make it so.

This is the way it works. You tell a lie; one of your buddies repeats it; your buddies in the news media picks it up, and by nightfall it has become part of the public myth.

But New Yorkers are not known for deep thinking, just for thinking they think deeply.