Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Freudian Slip

Economist David Henderson finds that the Vice President recently made a telling misstatement in a recent address to graduating West Point cadets:

Near the end of his speech at the United States Military Academy commencement, Mr. Cheney stated:

"On your first day of Army life, each one of you raised your right hand and took an oath. And you will swear again today to defend the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That is your vow, that is the business you're in."

Well, not quite. Here is the actual oath that newly minted officers in the U.S. Army take:

"I (insert name), having been appointed a (insert rank) in the U.S. Army under the conditions indicated in this document, do accept such appointment and do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God."

See the full post for Henderson's analysis of this little glitch. I love things like this, or Bush's oblique reference to the Dred Scott decision in a debate in 2004: they're such great windows into the depraved souls of these fine politicians.

(Via Economist's View.)