Speaking truth to power

One of the current objections to Palin is that she has exaggerated her record as a reformer. For example, that she was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it.

Now, unlike all the scurrilous attacks on her and her family, at least that’s a legitimate issue to raise. Comparing a politician’s claims to his actual record is fair game.

Speaking for myself, I think it’s a penny-ante issue. Not something I’d vote on. But I’ll use it to discuss some larger issues.

Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that she did exaggerate her record as a reformer. What should we make of that?

First of all, I don’t necessarily blame a politician who schmoozes the political establishment and cuts some deals on the way up the ladder. I’m more interested in what a politician does once he (or she) assumes a position of power. Does the politician continue business as usual? Or does he challenge the corrupt status quo?

It’s almost impossible to assume a position of power if you pick a fight with almost everyone in power. So I understand if a politician is more compromising in his rise to power. You’ll never get to the top if you alienate everyone above you.

I’m more inclined to judge a politician by what he does after he’s made it, and not what he does on the way up.

Of course, that doesn’t justify winning at any cost. You have to draw some lines.

Then there’s the question of honesty. Most politicians exaggerate. Do I have a problem with that? Depends.

I have low expectations for politicians. So it doesn’t surprise me or shock me or disappoint me.

And it doesn’t bother me personally since I’m not personally responsible for another man’s character.

There’s a reason that most politicians lie to one degree or another. The political culture punishes candor rather than rewarding candor.

Suppose a candidate for president were to say, “I’m not running as the education president. If you read the Constitution, that’s not in my job description!”

Do you think he could still win?

Suppose he were to say, “I’m not running as the economist-in-chief. That’s no part of my Constitutional job description!”

Do you think he could still win?

Or suppose he simply pointed out that a president doesn’t control a global economy. That’s beyond his power even if he wanted to.

Do you think he could still win?

Or what if he said, adjustable mortgage rates can go up as well as down. That’s what makes them adjustable. It’s a gamble. A roll of the dice. You win some, you lose some.

Do you think he could still win?

Suppose he were to say, “If you choose to live in a dangerous part of the country, you do so at your own risk. Don’t expect Uncle Sam to bail you out!”

Do you think he could still win?

Politicians are generally dishonest in varying degrees, and that’s because the electorate requires them to be dishonest to some degree. Most voters don’t want honest politicians. Year after year they vote for candidates who make campaign promises which they obviously can’t keep and won’t keep and have no intention of keeping.

Or take judicial nominations. Senators ask nominees trip-wire questions. They want to trap the nominee into admitting that a “Constitutional right” which is nowhere in the Constitution is, in fact, a Constitutional right.

If they successfully extract that confession from the nominee, they will then use it to discredit the nominee. As a result, nominees give evasive answers to trip-wire questions.

Or suppose Bush is privately of the opinion, knowing now what he didn’t know then, that if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn’t invade Iraq. What if he were to admit that, with the benefit of hindsight, it may have been a serious miscalculation.

(At the moment I’m not taking a position on the Iraq war—I’m just floating a hypothetical case.)

Would he be praised for his newfound capacity for self-criticism? Or would his moment of unguarded candor be ruthlessly exploited by his political opponents?

Do I think it’s a good thing that politicians lie to us? No. But they lie to us because most voters vote for the best liar. The candidate who tells them the lies they want to hear. So there’s a lot of blame to go around.