John McCain... everyone Everyone knows that William Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground in the late 60s and 70s. They set bombs. But everyone also knows that William Ayres is an English professor who lectures nationally (including Harvard), has written 15 books, was given a "citizen of the year" award for the city of Chicago, and sits on a number of charity boards because of his work with at-risk youth.
Please stop lying (fear-mongering) by all that you're leaving out. It's okay with me if you tell the story. But tell the whole story. It's so far off, it's a flat out lie.
Barack Obama... stop pretending 13 minute campaign ads are "documentaries" when they have so many partial facts. We know John McCain was involved with the Keating Savings & Loan conspiracy in the early 1990s. He clearly shouldn't have put pressure on regulators. But please mention that he was never charged with a crime. That he was reprimanded by the ethics committee, but was considered the least involved of the five senators. And still McCain has called the incident "the worst mistake of my life."
Please stop lying by all that you're leaving out. It's okay with me if you tell the story. But tell the whole story. Add the idea that the Keating de-regulation have lead to today's financial crisis, and we've got an insinuation so misleading (McCain caused the financial crisis), it's a flat out lie.
What makes it worse from both campaigns is that it's not like the facts are murkey. Fact-checking is becoming big again (a plus for all of us). We know you've heard the press reports, the documentary evidence. And yet to quote www.factcheck.org, you do it "again"
There's a moral component to language. Stop lying.
3 responses to "half-truths are lies"
A political post by you I can agree with! This election more than any other has discourged me on the state of American politics. Not that I had a high view to begin with! :)
I also wish the moderator would stop them mid-sentence when they move from answering the question to attacking their opponent.
I dont want to hear about the other guy. I want to hear what YOU think about the asked question. How hard is that?
Can you imagine how short yet powerful debates would be!?!?!
It would be nice if they took some time out from the mud-slinging and actually made arguments for why their positions will work. I really wish a third-party candidate would get a fighting chance.
Hear, hear!
Living in DC, it is so confoundingly maddening to even be in the same room as their debates, as they site each other's voting stats and sling mud. Yet so many people don't understand that so often voting on a bill can be heavily affected by the (completely unrelated) amendments. So it may appear they voted against something noble, when really, that was not the issue on the table at all.
It just kills me how they purposefully twist the truth.