He just changed his mind!

Seriously, this is one of my pet peeves--the conflation of the concepts of lying (make a statement one knows to be false about a present or past circumstance) and the breaking of a promise, or changing a position. They really are different things. I remember being particularly irritated during the impeachment saga when people said something like "So what if Clinton lied? Bush lied, too. He said he wouldn't raise taxes, and then he did."

Even leaving aside the fact that Clinton's lies were under oath, there is a distinction between making false statements, and taking a course of action different than that previously proposed, or even promised. Sometimes circumstances change, or new facts come to bear, in which case it's not reasonable to hold to a course just for the sake of being consistent with past statements. That doesn't mean that changes of position shouldn't be criticized--just that they shouldn't be considered "lies."

In the case at hand, of course, it does appear that Schwarzenneger was being untruthful before the show, but there's no way to know that for sure. It's at least conceivable (though not likely) that once he got up on stage, he decided at the last minute to go for it, so the headline, to me, is too strong.

"Arnie lied, ratings died!"
"Arnie lied, ratings died!"

You can almost hear the protestors now!

Much as I'm sure it comes as a surprise to "media" types, anything Arnie did or didn't say privately to Jay is none of their business; it's between Arnie and Jay.

I truely do fear for our future when I see what the clowns who gather and report the news think is (a) news and (b) important.

Well, I disagree with you Rand. Bush elder lied. He said he wouldn't raise taxes, and then he did. You can talk about how circumstances changed, but that's a pathetic excuse for making such an outrageous statement in the first place. Despite that I wouldn't put him in the moral cellar with Clinton who commited perjury with his lies and got away with them.

Come to think of it, I bet Leno would like to get "lied" to more often. It can't help but boost ratings to have the occasional surprise announcement on his show. I'm slightly concerned that Scharwzenegger would make critical decisions without informing his advisors, but we have almost a couple of months to figure out if that's a real problem or not.

Karl, you completely miss my point. Breaking a promise is a bad thing, but it's not a "lie," unless he had no intention at the time of keeping it, something that we cannot know for sure.

The only things that can be called "lies" are statements about current or past events, not prospective ones. I'm not defending Bush--I'm just saying that he should be criticized for the right thing. Words mean things.

The only things that can be called "lies" are statements about current or past events, not prospective ones. I'm not defending Bush--I'm just saying that he should be criticized for the right thing. Words mean things.

Ok, reaching for the wimpy Webster's collegiate dictionary, I see:

Lie: 1) A false statement purposely put forward as truth: FALSEHOOD, 2) Something meant to deceive or give the wrong impression.

Lies about future events can be said as well, but Rand, your point survives quite well. I can't prove that Bush purposely deceived the US public (or any other group), so using the term "lie" here is incorrect. Please accept my apologies.

Karl, read your own definitions and see if you want to retract. They contradict what you said.