Beware of Absolutes

   The president is fond of "truthful hyperbole," but when that exaggeration crosses the line into the realm of absolute falsehood -- read "lies" -- it's time to flag him.
   He may even have set a record for the most lies told in a 20-minute period by any other president, or even himself.
   In speaking to reporters in the Oval Office at a rushed signing of the tax overhaul legislation and several other bills, the president claimed that he had achieved "the most legislative accomplishments of any president."
   Other than the tax reform bill that he signed today, how many others have there been? We can't think of any, major or otherwise. Compare that to the achievements of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the first year of his presidency as the Great Depression roared across America.
   He also called the tax cut in the current bill the largest ever. No. Adjusted for inflation, it falls behind the reductions enacted during the Obama administration.
   He continued his attack on the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, insisting it was a disaster. A day earlier, his own administration reported that 8.8 million people had signed up for health insurance available through the Affordable Care Act, most during the open enrollment period of recent weeks.
   He touted the benefits of the new tax bill for owners of small farms and businesses as the estate tax is cut. Most people think of small farms and businesses as family owned. But to gain a benefit from the estate tax, the total value of an estate must exceed $10 million for an individual, or $20 million for a couple, and the tax is levied on only the excess of those amounts.
   How many Americans have estates valued at more than $10 million that they would pass on to their children?
   Other news media outlets have been tracking the number of lies this president has told in his first 11 months in office. The question now is what the total will be as the year ends, and whether that total includes the number of times a given untruth was repeated.
   As for today's performance in the Oval Office, we counted at least four in the first 20 minutes of talking.
   That's certainly a record of some kind.