Are all politicians liars?

08-19-2004, 06:44 AM

At a minimum, they all make campaign promises that can't be kept. Is this a behavior that we have come to expect?

Burnin' oil · 08-19-2004, 07:11 AM

Yes and yes. I was thinking about this the other day. If I were responsible for hiring a president, i.e., interviewing applicants, doing background checks, etc., neither Bush nor Kerry would have made it past the first round. In fact, most politicians would not make it past the initial interview.

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

Not only expect, but require.

If any politician told the truth about the state of Social Security, for instance, they could just kiss off any chance at election.

Superman · 08-19-2004, 08:18 AM

Yep. The skills that make for good politicians, also make for poor statesmen. A good politician is:

Rich
Not bothered by ethical constraints
Good smile
Ability talk without saying anything
Risk averse

A good statesman is:

Not rich (understands the lives of ordinary citizens)
Ethical
Principled
Courageous

singpilot · 08-19-2004, 08:21 AM

ka-ching!

The correct answer is a one word answer, three letters.

YES!

Mule · 08-19-2004, 11:03 AM

Superman, we agree on something!

08-19-2004, 11:27 AM

Then, are there any more statesmen?

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

A statesman is nothing more than a dead politician.

The mere desire to hold office should immediately disqualify the candidate for any office higher than Dog Catcher.

Superman · 08-19-2004, 12:51 PM

Mule, we probably agree on a great deal. The devil's in the details, but if we rolled up our sleeves we could probably agree on 80% of that as well.

Thom, that's why I decided not to continue to pursue a career in psychology. I looked around and noticed that that field is filled with people who wanted to play with peoples' minds for money. To want that, you've got to be crazy. So I looked around some more and that's what I found.

fintstone · fintstone's Garage

Zell Miller is a statesman...and strangely enough, a democrat. He says what he believes to be the truth reagardless of politics.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Yep, they're all liars...

campbellcj · 10:31 PM

Policitican == Liar in my opinion.

I think it's a job prerequisite.

Then again, honestly, don't most of us bend the truth (or worse) in the pursuit of money, power, sex, drugs, or rock n' roll in our daily pursuits? There are ways to make statements that can be proven as absolute fact when questioned, and yet can also easily -- and oftentimes deliberately -- be interpreted quite differently by the targeted audience.

Isn't this the exact job definition of a "salesperson" ???