Andrew Sullivan concedes that McGovern is unsavory, but otherwise Sullivan is sticking to his guns.

McGovern’s having served in G.H.W. Bush’s era does make him an old hand. So what, though? Colin Powell was an old hand too, and a loyal soldier. That didn’t stop him from retaliating against Rumsfeld last week. Brent Scowcroft is an even older hand. That didn’t stop him from sticking it to Bush and Rice and Cheney and Rumsfeld when he gave Goldberg his interview for the New Yorker. And Wilkerson and Zinni and Richard Clarke and Michael Scheuer and the retired generals and all the others carrying long knives? All of them were once insiders and all of them have it out for someone in the administration.

Ray McGovern was probably one of the legions who were trampled or cast aside by the hardcases in this administration. This is open warfare. Excuse me if I don’t pull out my handkerchief. It just makes McGovern another guy with an ax to grind. It doesn’t give him credibility, or moral authority, which is what’s being invested in him when he’s treated respectfully by the press rather than called out for the creep he is.

As Sullivan points out, it’s also true, however, that McGovern’s repellent views and political affiliations don’t have much to do with the issue at hand–whether or not Rumsfeld was caught “lying.” In my book, McGovern is so repellent that he cedes his right to be taken seriously, but I will address Sullivan’s point.

Merriam-Webster defines “lie” [verb, intransitive] thus:

1 : to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive
2 : to create a false or misleading impression

Let us concede that Rumsfeld did make an untrue statement (by denying that he had made an earlier statement “we know where the WMDs are”).

With this untrue statement, was he attempting to deceive? creating a misleading impression? Or was he attempting to defend himself against McGovern’s implicit accusation—innuendo—that Rumsfeld was also “lying” (during the first “lie,” that is) about the existence of WMDs?

We may have all become used to hurling pejoratives at each other, but “liar” is a special one. The word itself is an accusation. I don’t blame Rumsfeld for defending himself against it.

The matter is now in the court of public opinion. We shall see how Mr. Rumsfeld and Mr. McGovern fare there.