Matt Lauer Picks & Chooses "consensus"

“Earlier today, I ordered America’s armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors”

– President William Jefferson Clinton 12/16/98

Karl Rove and Matt Lauer apparently went at it today about whether “Bush lied” about WMD.

Lauer has decided he will stick to the narrative established by the media and Democrat party:

ROVE: There were 110 Democrats who voted for the Iraq war resolution. 67 of those Democrats, including John Kerry, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, on the floor of the Congress said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. So, he may be able to dismiss it in one snarky line, but I have, I have, I have the facts in here. . . . Look the intelligence was worldwide agreed that he had WMD. That he had ignored 14 resolutions following his surrender after Kuwait to account for his WMD. He had spent 12 years stiffing the international community. We now know because of two international reports by two international weapons inspectors, Kay and Doefler, that he was diverted tens of millions of dollars a year to Oil for, from the Oil for Food program to keep together the necessary dual-use-

LAUER: But agreement was not worldwide. Here’s from, from Bob Woodward’s book State of Denial. He writes in October of 2002, the top intelligence officer, Major General James “Spider” Marks, in charge of looking for WMD in Iraq looked at a list of 946 WMD sites and found quote, “He couldn’t find with confidence there were any weapons of mass destruction or stockpiles at a single site.”

ROVE: Well, that’s one, but there were many intelligence…

LAUER: But you said it was worldwide. There was disagreement!

Emphasis mine.

Rove is right, but he is wasting his time trying to get anyone in the media to admit that they were complicit in the building of a false narrative established for political considerations. But what I think is interesting is how malleable Matt Lauer can be on the issue of “consensus.” For close to a decade, he has accepted the notion that a “consensus” on “man-made global warming” has outweighed any and all differing opinions. Under no circumstances was credibility conferred upon questioners, even though “there was disagreement!”, serious disagreement, with the narrative.*

But now, in the case of Rove, and Bush, and Iraq and WMD, suddenly, “consensus” doesn’t mean much, because “there was disagreement!”

Hey, Matt, psssst! On AGW: “there was disagreement!” Real disagreement! Please tell Al Gore.

And while you’re telling Al Gore that “there was disagreement!” please ask yourself if all that breastbeating you and your co-horts did re “not asking enough questions in the lead-up to the Iraq war” may not come back to haunt you, in hindsight, on the “manmade global warming crisis.” And, ummm…on the Great Obama Hope & Change Presidency of Miracles, Signs and Wonders campaign hype, too.

The Media Double Standard continues: “Consensus” settles all doubt. “Consensus” trumps all questions, and reveals those who doubt to be morons. Except when suddenly it doesn’t.

That is all.

You can read the whole, pointless, fruitless Rove, Lauer exchange, here.

*Re-tooled for clarity’s sake.

INSTALANCHE! Thanks, Glenn!