The phrase honest politician has become an oxymoron. We should not be impressed by the prospect of having the first woman, first black or first Latino president. What would be far more radical would be to have the first honest president, if not ever, certainly in a very long time.
Presidents in recent memory have been excellent liars, contributing mightily to our culture of dishonesty. Bill Clinton had the audacity to look right into the TV camera and blatantly lie to the American public. George W. Bush has probably set a record for official lying, though it might take many decades to fully document them. Things have gotten so bad that hardly anyone can even imagine a fully honest president. But if we don’t expect an honest president, how can we expect to trust government?
Don Nash made these insightful observations, “If America was ever faced with a politician who spoke truth to the people, no-one would know what to make of the oddity. This politician could probably not get elected to office. Sadly, Americans can’t handle the truth. …Lies, then, are the consequential destruction of American democracy. Little by very little, the lies and lying politicians have chipped away at America’s Constitution and the American form of government.”
Rampant lying by politicians is a major reason why so many Americans have stopped paying attention to politics, stopped hoping for political reforms, and stopped voting
Lying politicians probably tell themselves that the public cannot take the truth. Many convince themselves (lie to themselves) that lies of omission are not really serious like lies of commission.
Just how bad things have become is shown by the recent decision by the Supreme Court of the state of Washington that lying politicians are protected by the 1st Amendment. They are free to lie as much as they can get away with. Free speech apparently is a green light for lying, even though it leads to rotten, dishonest government.
During this primary season it is worthwhile to look at Republican and Democratic candidates from this honest-president perspective. A truly honest president would have the greatest loyalty to honoring the rule of law, the Constitution and the needs of the public, rather than what we have grown used to: greatest loyalty to their party and the moneyed interests funding it. If the nation really wants a change president, honesty should be a requirement.
Article comments
1 - Brent
I think you might be proven wrong, hopefully we get an honest politician (also known as a statesman) into the white house! Ron Paul has turned some heads, hopefully hell turn enough to win the nomination :)
2 - Dave Nalle
I'm inclined to think that the idea of 'objective truth' is somewhat illusory. All of the candidates are serving some 'higher truth' as they envision it, and some of them are probably deluded enough to think that their version of the truth is the one and absolute version.
I'd rather have someone who tries to do his best and doesn't think he has the revealed truth on his side than someone so self-righteous as to think there's one truth and he's the conduit for it.
Dave
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
I anxiously await the next Hirschhorn article: why do hot chicks always go for douchebags?
4 - El Bicho
Rather than wait for the next article, you could always ask Skye.
5 - TheOneLaw
Wow!
Joel, You won't win many popularity contests with this kind of penetrating analysis.
I wish you were a little more mainstream, but then I guess you wouldn't stand out as much if everyone else were as honest about sheeple and their choices.
Tip of the tinfoil hat and a big round of
Cheers from the Ron Paul rEVOLution.
6 - Zedd
Joel,
Your expectations in general seem to be excessively high and idealistic. The politicians of this race are not lying. They are marketing themselves. They are stating what they want to do, what their intent is. Some questions are difficult to answer because they are complex but because we want a yes or no answer, they end up seeming to waffle when all they are trying to do is give us the truth.
The real problem is that we don't know how to tell reality from theater. You are expecting these real human beings who experience unimaginable hours on the road, talking, meeting, brainstorming, stopping and starting to be concise and lucid always. They go through grueling schedules that most of us wouldn't be able to tolerate. We expect them to be like cartoons. We want candidates to be mentally sharp under such circumstances, know everything and give us a simple yes or no answer to complicated issues that require an intelligent nuanced response.
These are all overachievers. You don't really want to know what they think. They would probably say that we are all a bunch of dumb, lazy losers who need to get off of our bums and get a life.
7 - Matthew T. Sussman
Okay, that one was good.
8 - JD
You nailed it Mr. Hirschhorn.
It all begins with integrity and honesty above all. When that is not transparent, you get the government you deserve.
It is too easily dismissed and ignored and lacking it is not being judgmental or moralistic. It is the basis of sound thinking
9 - moonraven
The US electorate is not honest.
Why should a dishonest electorate merit an honest president?
Doesn't make any sense at all.
Remember, you gringos live in a REPRESENTATIVE democracy--that means that it MIRRORS you.
Hypocrisy gives me a pain in my lovely butt.
10 - gonzo marx
well well, finally something new from Joel...decent Article...
/golfclap
i may not Agree with all of it, but a vast improvement over the many previous bits of drivel
Excelsior?
11 - Mark Schannon
Hey, boys and girls, I'm baaaaack.
Heya, Gonzo. Hi there Dave & Matt. I find myself breathless, stunned, stupified, but I actually agree with most of what Moonraven said. I'm trying to cut down on drinking, but it's 3:54...close enough to 6 for me.
We do get the politicians we deserve, and I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say we're all liars here in the great United States, but a hell of a lot of us are so self-centered and devoid of any ethical foundation that anyone appealing to our selfish needs usually gets our vote.
Phew, that's more than I've written in ages.
(Still screwed up, but heading off to Cleveland Clinic where the mandarins and wizards promise to either cure what's ailing me or give me a new brain. I guess I'll have to change my moniker to "The Scarecrow."
And remember, boys and girls,
In Jameson Veritas
The Curmudgeon at Large
12 - Dave Nalle
Nice to see you 'round the old place again, Mark. Good luck with the medical muggery. I bet it's all about hormones.
Dave
13 - Mark Schannon
Jesus, Moonie, you make me wish I hadn't agreed with you...sigh.
In Jameson Veritas
Curmudgeon at Large
14 - moonraven
Then DON?T agree with me.
I couldn't possibly care less.
15 - pawelek
It is obvious that Gravel has all the right answers to our problems and to talk about anyone else is boring. Gravel is like a superhero. he should get the Nobel peace prize, the medal of honor, and a mountain carved in his image. Take your heads out of the sand these other people do not even deserve consideration they are boring and unispired. Do something creative america are you not bored of the stagnation and artistic wasteland. Liven up the world get Gravel in the picture make your life worth living.
16 - Marcia L. Neil
Something else to wonder and worry about during the Presidential campaigns -- a business card posted on a city map in a Chinese-theme restaurant in Martin County, FL, that shows a head-shot of a woman that exactly resembles the 'Hillary Clinton' shown in televised newscasts (with hair parted on the opposite side).