Patrick F. Cannon

Back in the days when I worked for a living, as manager of public relations and communications for Lions Clubs International, I would often have our outside public relations firm train our incoming officers in “media relations.”  The intent, of course, was to put the association in the best possible light when dealing with those pesky reporters.

            Part of the training involved the officer memorizing a list of positive things Lions were doing around the world, in hopes that the reporter would ask a related question. Often, they did, but sometimes might ask about something the officer had little or no knowledge of, or that might be embarrassing (prior to 1987, “why don’t you permit female members?”). They were taught techniques that made them seem to be answering that question, while segueing to a more positive subject.

            Politicians learn these techniques early in their careers. In fact, many have this talent in their genetic makeup. During this endless election season, how often have you heard a candidate answer a direct question? Rarely? Never? It doesn’t matter if the candidate is a Democrat or Republican – they all seem unwilling or unable to use the simple words “yes” or “no.”

            In a recent interview with the New York Times, Senator J.D. Vance was asked if he thought Donald Trump had lost the 2020 election. He could have said “no.” If he had, however, the reporter would certainly have followed up with “why?” If he said “yes,” he would have soon received a hearty “you’re fired” from the boss of bosses. Instead, he asked the reporter why she hadn’t asked so and so why he or she hadn’t done such and such. She persisted, asking the same question three more times. In the end, he managed to make it seem like she was the one evading the question. Brilliant. Also, dishonest.

            The problem: we’re so used to our politicians not answering questions directly that we’ve built up an immunity to lies. We expect all politicians to tell their own versions of the truth. Despite the fact he’s a pathological liar, it looks like about 50 percent of American voters will cast their ballots for Trump anyway. Many of them will say that all politicians lie, so why single out the King of Lies for special approbation?

            A good many of my conservative friends tell me that they are not voting for president. They’re “never Trump” Republicans, who also can’t bring themselves to vote for Kamals Harris. As it happens, there’s no law that requires you to vote, much less one that forces you to make a disagreeable choice. As for me, I haven’t made up my mind. Of course, you could always write me in. Modesty forbids me to write myself in. I’m not sure you can vote for a dead hero. I was thinking Groucho Marx  He was a great connoisseur of the absurd.

Copyright 2024, Patrick F. Cannon

By Patrick F. Cannon

I thought about calling this “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire,” but decided to take a more dignified approach to the subject of lying politicians. This was occasioned by an article in the New York Times (if you can believe it) calling out Kamala Harris for various statements.

            Written by James Kirchik, it in no way absolves Donald Trump; indeed, he rightly notes that “Mr. Trump has lied more frequently and egregiously than perhaps any other major figure in American History.” On the other hand, he points out that “Kamala Harris did not strictly adhere to the truth at the presidential debate earlier this month.” (Nor, I should point out, was she “fact checked” by the moderators as Trump was.)

            Two examples should suffice. She claimed that Trump had said there would be a “blood bath” if he weren’t elected. Any fair reading of the context shows he was referring to the jobs of auto workers. She then said, “there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in any war zone around the world – the first time in this century.” Please tell this to the service members deployed to the Middle East since the October 7 attacks on Israel last year; or to the families of the service members killed in Jordon in January’s drone attack.

            Kirchik’s article, How Lying Became Misinformation, appeared in the September 23 Times. The very next day, the Axios news web site published an article showing the sharp gaps between what we think “publicly,” and what we really think about political issues.

            In public surveys, only 22 percent of us say we trust the government to tell the truth. If asked privately, the percentage drops to four! Trust the media? In private, only seven percent say they do. Defund the police? Only two percent say we should.

            We’ve invented numerous ways to minimize the lies our side tells. We talk about disinformation, misinformation, selective “facts,” “shading” the truth, and on and on. We “mis-speak;” the other side, of course, just blatantly lies.

            Do our politicians know they’re lying? You bet they do. And they’re aided and abetted by their professional staff members, who’s jobs depend on trying to determine what messages will get the most votes. You wonder how candidate A can change his or her position on an issue like immigration or abortion almost overnight? Easy to explain. They never really had any principled position to begin with – just one that they thought would get them elected.

            (Vice President Harris has learned, after her disastrous run for the nomination in 2020, that what gets you elected in California doesn’t necessarily get you elected anywhere else. While she has been criticized for changing her positions on many issues, she’s smart enough to shade or even reverse them to get elected. You may have noticed that Donald Trump is doing the same.)

            There are a few exceptions. I can’t think of a politician I disagree with more than Bernie Sanders on most issues, but I grudgingly admire his steadfast adherence to his socialist principles. He wouldn’t change them even if it meant bettering his chances of running for president. I saw him a couple of days ago grilling a drug company president about soaring prices. He would have done the same thing 10 or 20 years ago, because he continues to believe they’re screwing the consumer.  

So, our politicians lie to us. We vote for them anyway, as if it made no difference. When you vote in November, as I hope you will, at least take off your rose-colored glasses.

Copyright 2024, Patrick F. Cannon