You don't have to fool the people. What you can do is put them in a situation where they fool themselves.

Self-deception can be very powerful. Even intelligent people will go along with an obvious lie if they intuit that the consequences of changing their position might be bad for their social or financial standing. People will ignore evidence that questions their beliefs, they will disengage with people that question them and they will give unwarranted credence to people that re-inforce their beliefs. I have seen it first hand, many times.

One of the toughest challenges I face when confronting Bush people is the connection he has fostered between his party and christianity. If your church, preacher and peers all equate Bush/GOP with God's will, then believing that Bush is a lair means questioning the judgment of your entire social-religious network. You face being ostracized for your disent and it might mean questioning your own religious faith. If the negative consequences of turning on Bush is higher than the rewards, then people will find a way to rationalize a way to maintain their belief, even if the evidence is overwhelming.

Bush knows that he only has to keep denying any wrongdoing and reinforcing the tribal connections of his party and his followers will fill in the blanks.

That's what I feel anyways.