Re: The "lying" game

More bitching and moaning from the party unable to account for why it has to
lie to win elections.


<SETI2001@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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The "lying" game

By David Harsanyi
The Denver Post

There are many brands of truth. Some are poetic truths, others are
political truths and some are staggering exaggerations ? or what
politicians frequently refer to as "talking."

These days, there is an outbreak of artificial indignation over the
"lies" of Republicans. John McCain, claims Barack Obama's national
press secretary Bill Burton, has run the "sleaziest and least
honorable campaign in modern presidential campaign history."

Ouch. We can attribute one of the following to this claim: 1) Burton
has just landed on the planet Earth; 2) Burton is attempting to
manipulate the media; 3) Burton is "lying."

I pick 2. After all, we've all heard the self-serving myth that pits
helpless, meek, high-minded, issue-oriented Democrats against
mendacious and mean Republicans, who not only detest America ?
especially children and small vulnerable creatures ? but will lie and
cheat to keep all oppressed.

The facts betray a more equitable story. And it starts with Sarah
Palin's assertion that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to the
infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" and opposed earmarks. This is an elastic
political truth.

Technically, she did stop the project after initially supporting it.
She has taken earmarks ? even lobbied for them while mayor of Wasilla.
As governor, though, Palin also vetoed over 300 wasteful projects and
made an attempt to reform the process. Her record on earmarks is
mixed, but by any measure, it's far superior to either Democratic
candidate.

Moreover, if this Palin claim can be classified as an untruth, Obama
can be called a "liar" just as easily.

Take, if you will, the foundational assertion of Obama's entire
campaign that he is the candidate of post-partisan change. Obama,
meanwhile, voted with fellow Democrats 96 percent of the time in
Washington. And the bipartisan achievement he most often cites, an
ethics reform bill, was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate.

Unanimous: ". . . being in complete harmony or accord."

So, then, "Unity" should be referred to as a poetic truth.

And when much of the media acts as if it is personally offended by a
questionable McCain ad accusing Obama of voting for a bill that would
have provided sex education to kindergartners, you feel the pain. It
was, indeed, a massive stretch.

It reminds me of the Obama ad that accuses McCain of having "voted to
cut education funding" and "proposed" the abolishment of the
Department of Education despite neither being true. Not much anger at
that one. Just a lot of talk about the media's responsibility to keep
candidates honest. And absolutely, journalists have a responsibility
to put every single candidate through the wringer.

Every candidate.

So maybe, when ABC's Charlie Gibson has the chance to chit-chat with
Obama, he can ask him ? twice ? how, with his dearth of experience and
his own 2004 "lie" that he would "serve out my full six-year term" in
the Senate ? whether he really, truly, actually believes he is ready
for the job of the presidency. Or did he blink? Ever?

And when the Palin inspection is over, and Americans know how many
moose burgers she's ingested and every federal cent she has ever
requested, cable news shows can begin panel discussions regarding Joe
Biden.

They can examine the Democratic VP nominee's relationship with credit-
card giant MBNA. Someone might even ask Biden why he backed
legislation promoted by the credit-card industry and opposed by
watchdog groups while his son was a lobbyist for MBNA.

This question, it seems, at the very least deserves as much attention
as Palin's teenage daughter's pregnancy.

Because, of course, no one is innocent in politics. Nor does any
party, despite what you may have heard, occupy the moral high ground.


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