Unraveling All the 'Spin'

With a war going on in Kosovo and an argument back home over spies, guns and money, Washington may have set some kind of record this week for gobbledegook, spin, finger pointing, excuses and downright lies.

Well, here is where I tune out:

• Anytime a politician begins an answer to any question by saying, "It's important that we put this in context." That guarantees a shovel full of blather to follow.
  
  
• Anytime a politician says, "We have to be honest with the American people," which always makes me wonder when it would be appropriate to be dishonest with the American people, and if a politician was, would he tell it?
  
  
• Anytime a Republican refers to the Democratic party as the Democrat party. Call them by their right name, guys. They don't call you Repubs.
  
  
• Anytime the White House starts defining words. No recent examples needed.
  
  
• Anytime a president of either party quotes from the letters of little children.
  
  
• And anytime the military argues you can judge whether a war is being won by the number of buildings being destroyed or roads and bridges that have been torn up. No disrespect, but I remember all those enemy headquarters we captured in Vietnam, and all those times we cut off supplies coming down the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Rest assured, the government response to this tirade is already in the works. I hear it has something to do with first, putting it all in perspective.

Written by Bob Schieffer