Politicians have always lied; no one is disputing that. But we have here the modern genetically enhanced super politician who doesn't just lie because it gives him an advantage, but lies all the time 24/7 because if he doesn't, he will be destroyed, instantly. It's the difference between living in a police state where you can't speak certain things in public because the dictator has spies in the streets, versus living in a police state where you can't say something in your home because the dictator has microphones in your living room.
Isn't transparency to what a politician really thinks a good thing? Maybe the modern press would have caught Nixon saying some really inappropriate bigoted comment, and he wouldn't have been president.
This is what is so fascinating about Trump, that he's been caught on tape and looped on so much stuff that I would have said, well that's it then. Whether he's referring to "the blacks", mocking disabled journalists, calling Mexicans rapists, stating that he wants to commit a war crime by killing the families of terrorists, implying that a the only reason a female journalist would give him a hard time is because she's menstruating.... These are all things that would traditionally have ended a campaign, or at least damaged it.
I personally don't live in fear of somebody reporting that I said these things, or that I contradicted myself on multiple occasions, because I don't say those things and I'm generally principled. If politicians are forced to lie, it is because they are genuinely bad people and need to cover it up. Maybe Trump will redefine that - by winning he'll get rid of all that PC crap that holds you accountable when you act like a jackass.
Skipping back to Dean for a minute, part of his problem was having the exactly wrong tone for the occasion. He just had his ass handed to him. Then he went out in front of his team, and also some reporters because when you're running for President you get that kind of scrutiny. He was just being himself - for me personally when I experienced it, the problem is that he was like the coach of a losing team that goes into the locker room at the end of the game and shouts about how they're going to the playoffs. The thing most people feel after a loss is humility, solemnity, resolution. I believe this is part of what made it so funny that morning show DJs had the sample on a button. Mind you, he had been the front runner for quite some time before he blew Iowa, which happened before the scream. If anyone is interested in trying to understand what really killed his campaign, there's a great article from Esquire,
The Dean Scream: An Oral History. One of the interesting quotes was "Dean refused to get media training" in regard to the microphone.
He would have faded away more quietly had the scream not happened, but make no mistake, their campaign was in shambles already, and if it wasn't they would have recovered.
In Dean's own words:
Running for president is running for the most powerful office in the world. And politics is just war. 400 years, 500 years ago we used to murder each other in large numbers over succession and asset allocation, which is what politics is really about. And my attitude is, yeah, of course it's unfair. It's awful, and there are a lot of jerks in the business. But if you don't like it, don't run for president. Because if it's too hard, if you can't get over the Scream speech and push that away, what are you going to do when Putin wants Alaska back? So was it an injustice? Sure it was an injustice. So what?
So if Trump can't get over somebody in the press saying he's not a billionaire, and needs to sue them...
