Retrophisch

I tried sending you an e-mail just now, Christopher, but I got the old bouncearooni. Why don't you drop me a line?

That Iraqi wasn't just "some woman." She was a well-connected diplomat.

http://www.pissnvinegar.com/2005/02/04/balcony/

An excellent point, if you ask me...

cl

Oh, yes, the President had oh so much time to deliver Ms. al-Suhail's life story in the middle of his address? Did he lie when he briefly described who she was? No. Did he leave out a good chunk of her biography? Of course.

One will recall President Clinton, during one of his State of the Union speeches, singling out an African-American woman in the balcony as an example of the work-out-of-welfare program that was undertaken by his administration. (A program pushed by the the Republican majority, not the Democrats.) I cannot remember her name, and it's after one in the morning, and I don't feel like undertaking a Google search right now. What I do recall is that he presented her as a fine example of someone who had worked their way out of welfare, and bravo for her.

What President Clinton failed to mention was her rather checkered past, involving hard narcotics. This shining example of "workfare" was also later arrested on crack cocaine charges.

Leaving out details of someone's life who you are singling out while addressing the entire nation isn't criminal or misleading. It is for the sake of brevity.