In his controversial new book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan reflects on some of the outright lies told to the American people.

Equaled only by the quagmire that is the Iraq war, the most devastating of George W. Bush’s many failures as President was his response (or lack thereof) to the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

According to Scott McClellan, the famous photos taken of George Bush overlooking New Orleans from his plane after the storm were entirely staged.

The brainchild? You guessed it, former Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. Bush’s brain, the sultan of sleaze and master of media manipulation recommended taking the photos to show just how much Bush cared. *sniff*

The duplicity of Rove and Bush has tarnished the office of the presidency more than any two photos can adequately describe. But the staged images below are some of the most chilling examples of this culture of deception …

George W. Bush poses for the cameras as he surveys New Orleans.