Fuzzy math

From the Bush administration? Say it ain't so.

Monte Reel and Peter Baker write in The Washington Post that a central claim of Bush's trip is that "U.S. concerns about persistent poverty have prompted a doubling of economic aid to Latin America since 2001. . . .

"To make the claim, however, Bush is relying on what some analysts called an accounting gimmick. In fact, they said, U.S. aid to Latin America has remained relatively stable since 2000. And the budget Bush sent to Congress last month proposed cutting aid from $1.6 billion to $1.47 billion, an 8 percent reduction. . . .

"Bush is so intent on calling attention to U.S. aid, telling interviewers and audiences that he has increased it from $860 million to $1.6 billion. 'And yet we don't get much credit for it,' Bush told CNN's Spanish-language network. 'And I want the taxpayers, I want the American people to get credit for their generosity in Central and South America.'

"Analysts note that Bush is using a misleading base line, comparing this year's figure with 2001, a year when Latin American aid was essentially cut in half temporarily to make up for a large military aid package for Colombia and five neighbors. Moreover, Bush never mentions in his comments that he just proposed cutting the figure he cites in next year's budget."

Everything Bush says is a lie, including "the" and "and." It really is astounding, though. This "doubling of aid" claim is the central point of his entire, ridiculous "good will" tour of Central and South America. And it's easily discovered to be untrue. They assume reporters and other absorbers will simply be too lazy and uninterested to fact check them. Often they're correct. But in this case, they've done nothing to counteract the popularity of a demagogic, up-and-coming fascist like Hugo Chavez. Brilliant.