] Both the war and the tax cuts began as policy decisions.
] The justifications for the policies were developed -- and
] changed as often as necessary -- to accommodate the
] policies.
]
] And a lot of people have gone blithely along.
]
] I wonder if they go along out of belief, out of deference
] to their leaders or out of partisan loyalty.

This is a well written question. Nice and open so that you can insert the theory of your preference. I want to add that just because they are obviously lying doesn't mean your conspiracy theories are correct.

Does the Public Really Believe? (washingtonpost.com)