MoveOn.org, which frequently engages in misleading tactics, is up to old tricks.

First, today’s New York Times features a print ad from the group that claims “George Bush said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and a ‘mushroom cloud’ was imminent.” Bush did use the phrase “mushroom cloud” to try to scare the public, as did other members of his administration — a tactic we criticized in All the President’s Spin. But he did not say a mushroom cloud was “imminent.” On Oct. 7, 2002, he said, “Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannnot wait for the final proof — the smoking gun — that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.” Bush’s language (“peril”, “final proof”, “mushroom cloud”) was exaggerated given the evidence available at the time, but MoveOn’s summary is not accurate.

In addition, MoveOn is airing a television ad that FactCheck.org has rightly criticized as being deceptive. Here is the script in its entirety:

Video: A series of white-haired men and women perform menial jobs, kneading dough, lifting boxes, mopping floors, shoveling, washing bedding.

Announcer: First, someone thought up the working lunch. Then we discovered the working vacation. And now, thanks to George Bush’s planned Social Security benefit cuts of up to 46 percent to pay for private accounts, it won’t be long before America introduces the world to the working retirement.

Call your representative today and tell them no. George Bush can’t cut Social Security.

As FactCheck.org points out, the 46 percent cut applies to the reduction in promised guaranteed benefits for someone retiring in 2075, not the current retirees suggested by images of the elderly and the phrase “it won’t be long.” MoveOn is just not credible.