Hiding a lie in plain sight

This continues Fosco's series of posts on the Bush farewell address.

When you want to slip in a lie about something you didn't do, sometimes it helps to put it in the middle of a list of things you (maybe) did do. Read this one (italics are mine):

Across our country, students are rising to meet higher standards in public schools. A new Medicare prescription drug benefit is bringing peace of mind to seniors and the disabled. Every taxpayer pays lower income taxes. The addicted and suffering are finding new hope through faith-based programs. Vulnerable human life is better protected. Funding for our veterans has nearly doubled. America’s air, water, and lands are measurably cleaner. And the Federal bench includes wise new members like Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Now while we could certainly take issue with several of the Bush claims in this paragraph (Sam Alito is "wise"? Maybe on Planet Dick-tron Five.), there is one that is such a gutsy lie that I'm surprised Bush could say it with a straight face. Well, er, without much more of a smirk than the rest of the speech. It may be the most cynical sentence in his entire address (and that's saying something).

Our "air, water, and lands are measurably cleaner"? You motherfucking liar. There is more CO2 and coal soot in our air. There is more arsenic and mercury in our water. And there is more pesticide and coal ash slurry on our land. And that's not all: if you can stand it, you can read the whole sorry story.

And you know what? It was a completely unnecessary lie. There is nothing to gain by saying it. His conservative base couldn't care less about the environment, and the rest of us know he's lying. Honestly, I think he included this lie because he's just a dick.