— Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the chairman of the House Budget Committee, on CNN Sunday. He was trying to explain his assertion late last week that the Pentagon brass was fibbing when it said it supports President Obama’s military budget. Ryan elaborated:

What I was attempting to say is, President Obama put out his budget number for the Pentagon first, $500 billion cut, and then they began the strategy review to conform the budget to meet that number. We think it should have been the other way around.

In poli-sci circles, they call that a junta.