When did this country become inured to dishonesty at the highest levels? I'm not talking about exaggeration; that's been around as long as the USA. I mean out and out lies, complete dishonesty, on an ongoing and seemingly-never-ending basis. When did this start?
Thirty years ago, we did not have this problem. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and the first George Bush may have pushed the truth on occasion, but they basically were honest men. They disagreed on many things, but honesty in the Oval Office was not one of those items. In fact, if the president lied during those years, it was a major scandal.
Then came Bill Clinton, and things changed. Clinton campaigned as a moderate, but immediately tried to govern as a liberal. Everything he said during his campaign was just tossed out the window. That dishonest tactic did not work, and the GOP took Congress for the first time in 40 years as a result. Clinton moved back to the center after that. All of this paled compared to the lies that erupted when the Monica Lewinsky story surfaced. Clinton lied to the country directly and often. His allies in the Democrat party and the media said the lies did not matter. Clinton survived the impeachment trial and he got away with telling lies to the American people and, even worse, telling lies under oath in a court proceeding. Sure, he may have been disbarred, but he survived and even prospered politically, and he did it on dishonesty. A new political paradigm was created.
Then came George W. Bush. He was basically truthful, but he was attacked non-stop as a liar. We all remember "Bush lied people died" as a chant that while factually wrong went on non-stop for almost eight years. After leading the charge to let Bill Clinton get away with dishonesty, the media spent eight years trying to make George Bush into a liar.
Then we got Obama. This man has elevated dishonesty to new levels in Washington. He did not lie to protect himself; instead, he knowingly used lies as a policy tool, a weapon, a force to help him get his way. We all remember "you can keep your doctor and your plan", but that was just one of a great many. Just yesterday, Obama told us that the ransom payment for the release of the hostages held by Iran wasn't actually ransom. Nothing Obama says can be taken at face value.
So now we have an election between two people, neither or whom is going to restore honesty to the White House. Trump, at least, usually lies about things that he previously said. Instead of just clearing up misstatements, we hear that he didn't real say something or the like. On the other hand, Hillary is a liar of such a great magnitude that she makes both her husband and Obama look honest by comparison. If she is elected, the idea of an honest president will be gone from America. No sane person would even believe anything that Hillary says.
I'm really tired of all the lies.
Thirty years ago, we did not have this problem. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and the first George Bush may have pushed the truth on occasion, but they basically were honest men. They disagreed on many things, but honesty in the Oval Office was not one of those items. In fact, if the president lied during those years, it was a major scandal.
Then came Bill Clinton, and things changed. Clinton campaigned as a moderate, but immediately tried to govern as a liberal. Everything he said during his campaign was just tossed out the window. That dishonest tactic did not work, and the GOP took Congress for the first time in 40 years as a result. Clinton moved back to the center after that. All of this paled compared to the lies that erupted when the Monica Lewinsky story surfaced. Clinton lied to the country directly and often. His allies in the Democrat party and the media said the lies did not matter. Clinton survived the impeachment trial and he got away with telling lies to the American people and, even worse, telling lies under oath in a court proceeding. Sure, he may have been disbarred, but he survived and even prospered politically, and he did it on dishonesty. A new political paradigm was created.
Then came George W. Bush. He was basically truthful, but he was attacked non-stop as a liar. We all remember "Bush lied people died" as a chant that while factually wrong went on non-stop for almost eight years. After leading the charge to let Bill Clinton get away with dishonesty, the media spent eight years trying to make George Bush into a liar.
Then we got Obama. This man has elevated dishonesty to new levels in Washington. He did not lie to protect himself; instead, he knowingly used lies as a policy tool, a weapon, a force to help him get his way. We all remember "you can keep your doctor and your plan", but that was just one of a great many. Just yesterday, Obama told us that the ransom payment for the release of the hostages held by Iran wasn't actually ransom. Nothing Obama says can be taken at face value.
So now we have an election between two people, neither or whom is going to restore honesty to the White House. Trump, at least, usually lies about things that he previously said. Instead of just clearing up misstatements, we hear that he didn't real say something or the like. On the other hand, Hillary is a liar of such a great magnitude that she makes both her husband and Obama look honest by comparison. If she is elected, the idea of an honest president will be gone from America. No sane person would even believe anything that Hillary says.
I'm really tired of all the lies.
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