"The biggest liar in modern political history" writes M Tomasky, editor Guardian American,is McCain

The lying game
Like George W. Bush, McCain and Palin have to lie. Because if they told the truth about their policies, they'd lose the election.

By Alan Wolfe

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/09/18/lies/

"The biggest liar in modern political history," writes Michael Tomasky, the editor of the Guardian America, about John McCain. There are indeed so many lies associated with the Republican campaign that one can pick and choose at random. My favorites are the efforts by the McCain campaign to portray Obama as being in favor of teaching sex education to 5-year-olds and the Spanish language ad accusing him of opposing immigration reform. Your favorites might include McCain's claim that Obama will raise taxes on the middle class or his statement to the women of "The View" that Sarah Palin never requested earmarks.

McCain's propensity to lie has become what political junkies call a meme, an idea or behavior that runs, seemingly unstoppably, from one media outlet to another. Some bloggers offer daily counts of how many falsehoods McCain tells while others wonder why the Democrats do not respond in turn. Even the mainstream press has gotten into the act.


McCain could tell the truth, which is that he is all for the free market and can barely wait until the crisis passes so the rich can go about the business of becoming ever richer. But if he does that, he will lose. McCain wants to win. Therefore he lies.

There is NOTHING he won't do to attain it. He has sold whatever he has that could be deemed a soul to whatever devil that he thinks will ensure his ascension to the White House. There is nothing left but a hollow shell that would crumble into dust immediately after he would take the oath of office.

and the media was lying right along with them. They will resume, I assume.

The sheer number of lies- blatant on the surface ones, defies any kind of logic, emotional or otherwise.

I guess the way they think is that if you throw so many out there, it would be hard to focus on any one or any sets.

Unfortunately for the McCain folks- and for Republicans in general, people are starting to ask a lot of questions....

was printed yesterday in a large regional paper in my area. Wait for the punchline....

Letters to the editor
Fact-checking is reporters' job

I read with astonishment your "Untangling the Web" editorial (Sept. 13) urging readers looking for "facts" to use the Internet. Are you serious? I thought fact-checking and investigative journalism was a reporter's duty. Why else have a newspaper? Further, while acknowledging citizens are falling for rampant falsehoods and half-truths, instead of exposing the lies and printing the facts your solution is to put down the newspaper and go away? Are Terry Southern and Joseph Heller members of the editorial board?

Here's a question: Why did these falsehoods get reported in the first place? How many times will John McCain tell us straight-faced that Sarah Palin gave the Bridge-to-Nowhere money back before a reporter will write, "That just isn't true"? And when will a reporter question whether a candidate who keeps repeating such lies has the moral fitness to be president?

Broadcast and print journalism has devolved into rewrites of press releases and mind-numbing celebrity sightings. "Today candidate 'A' accused his opponent of blah-blah. Candidate 'B' denied saying blah-blah. Coming up, the latest misfit celebrity gossip, but first in health news ... ."

Well, jeez, guys, what are the facts? We fools might be repeating their half-truths, but remember – they lied to you first.


Patrick Conley
Colville

get this. I mean, really GET IT.

is a euphemism.