It’s nice to be a Democrat. Here’s the New York Times’ description of President Biden’s relentless, eight-decade-long habit of lying about himself, taken from a piece titled, “Biden, Storyteller in Chief, Spins Yarns That Often Unravel,” and subtitled, “President Biden has been unable to break himself of the habit of embellishing narratives to weave a political identity”:
For more than four decades, Mr. Biden has embraced storytelling as a way of connecting with his audience, often emphasizing the truth of his account by adding, “Not a joke!” in the middle of a story. But Mr. Biden’s folksiness can veer into folklore, with dates that don’t quite add up and details that are exaggerated or wrong, the factual edges shaved off to make them more powerful for audiences.
Check out these euphemisms! “Yarns that often unravel.” “Unable to break himself of the habit of embellishing narratives to weave a political identity.” “Folksiness can veer into folklore.” “The factual edges shaved off.”
So: Lying, then?
Notably, the Times does not shy away from using that word — accurately, of course — to describe Biden’s predecessor:
Former President Donald J. Trump lied constantly
Trump did, yes. But Joe Biden said he’d be different. Even now, Joe Biden’s people insist that he’s different: “President Biden has brought honesty and integrity back to the Oval Office,” a spokesman from the White House told the paper. And Joe Biden’s not different. He’s also a liar.
Is Biden less of a liar? Sure. But it matters, nevertheless, that he’s a liar — a fact that the New York Times eventually gets around to acknowledging in the most New York Times way possible: By appealing to authority. Having noted that “White House officials disputed the characterization of Mr. Biden as a serial exaggerator and emphasized the contrast with his predecessor,” the paper invokes an expert who explains that “he did it first” is not actually exonerative.
But ethicists said that contrasting himself with Mr. Trump does not excuse Mr. Biden.
Thank goodness for those ethicists! Without them, we’d be lost.