Karen Hughes: Still lying

Here's presidential adviser Karen Hughes on CNN's Larry King Live:

It's been a remarkable three years in our history.

And we've emerged from the terror attacks and the recession that President Bush inherited and the war in Iraq. …

The strategy regarding this blatant lie — "the recession that President Bush inherited" — seems to be to just repeat this over and over and over and over until enough people think it's true that it won't even seem like a lie anymore. Despite repeated, torturous attempts to redefine when recessions begin and end, the Bush administration has still not succeeded in rewriting reality. The recession began during the administration of President George W. Bush. Period.

Retrogrouch points to the facts of the matter, as supplied by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

So, did Larry King — a veteran interviewer with decades of experience — correct Hughes' misstatement and point out that the economy grew 2.1 percent during President Clinton's final quarter in office? And did he then go on to ask why, when this is an established fact unchallenged by any credible economist, the Bush administration insists on repeating the flagrantly inaccurate assertion that Bush "inherited" an economy in recession?

Not exactly. Here's what he said:

"Your hair looks great, by the way."