Monthly Archives: September 2008

The Politics of Change

The real politics of change would start something like this:

My friends, I am lying to you.

I will tell you whatever it is that you want to hear that will get me elected to office.

I will lie about my opponents, I will lie about Iraq, I will lie about taxes, I will lie about the budget and the economy. In short, I will lie about anything that you let me lie about. And I will do it with your blessing, for my opponents are evil, stupid, unqualified, no different than what we have, and otherwise unfit for the position.

I’m sorry; I don’t mean to do this. You must understand that I’m walking a tightrope here. One misstep and I’m sunk. I don’t have time to really explain my positions, so I have to resort to canned phrases and responses to get my message across. It’s hard enough by itself, but it’s even worse when someone picks up on how these things don’t add up. And then there’s the distraction of trying to reconcile the constant yammering of my party and my advisors. Please forgive my foibles. I’m only human. I can only promise that I can and that I will do better.

… or something like that.