Charles Krauthammer: Is Obama Trustworthy?

Krauthammer questions Obama's trustworthiness and honesty, which others defend

Joe Wilson raised quite a ruckus by accusing Obama of lying, but Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer is the first to seriously consider the charge. Does Obama lie? Is he trustworthy? Two liberals and a reporter rebut Krauthammer's verdict.

• An Eliding, Truth-Telling Liar  Charles Krauthammer conceded that Obama didn't lie, but went on to describe lots of very dishonest-sounding behavior. "He merely elides, gliding from one dubious assertion to another," he wrote. "This has been the story throughout his whole health-care crusade. Its original premise was that our current financial crisis was rooted in neglect of three things — energy, education and health care. That transparent attempt to exploit Emanuel’s Law — a crisis is a terrible thing to waste — failed for health care because no one is stupid enough to believe that the 2008 financial collapse was caused by a lack of universal health care."

• 'Krauthammer Projects His Dishonesty Onto Obama'  Charged Jonathan Chait of the New Republic. "Krauthammer implies that Obama is relying on a vague promise to cut waste, fraud and abuse, which is a classic political dodge," Chait wrote. "In fact, Obama is referring to specific cuts that have been scored by the Congressional Budget Office. Does Krauthammer wish to challenge the CBO's findings? Of course not. He just wants to cast doubt upon Obama's plan by picking up any available weapon."

• Americans Believe Obama  Mark Silva of the Chicago Tribune pointed out poll data that shows most Americans trust Obama. "For all the 'TelePrompTer President' criticism that Obama draws from detractors, eight in 10 Americans say he is a good communicator," Silva wrote. "And nearly two-thirds of those surveyed by the Pew Research Center say that Obama is trustworthy. A similar number view him as a strong leader, according to the survey of 1,006 adults conducted Sept. 10-15."

• Krauthammer is Obsessed with Clinton  A Daily Kos contributor made a mocking parody of Krauthammer. "Obama doesn't lie," he quoted from Krauthammer. "He communicates. Joe Wilson hates that, so let me defend Wilson. And while I defend Wilson, let me bring up everything I hated about Clinton, because he communicated, too. And that mofo won a second term."