I wonder at the (self?) deceptive nature of politics. The Obamanites making accusations and excuses which are...questionable to any onlooker; the McCainoids shooting back, though with apparently more candor, at least as far as the Veep is concerned. (I say this as one dissatisfied with both candidates.) I recognise the foofooraw over Sarah Palin as a backhaded compliment to her. Barry-O and his posse are afraid that Hanoi John has made an astute tactical move in his choice of VP running-mate. I wonder especially at the Left's ability to speak lies, looking you in the eyes at high noon, and apparently all the while believing them as well.

Shortly after I got married, back when marriage licenses were carven on rocks, I was hired to do product photography for a small North Carolina variety store chain. One of my first tasks was to photograph a stack of washcloths. Thrilling. I folded them in quarters, and took the shot. My boss, Charlie S***s, took me back to the studio, and showed me How It Is Done.He proceeded to put two of the cloths together, fold them into quarters, arrange them so the fold faced the lens, stacked more of the same, then took the shot. Quite a difference. He caught the vibe of my ethical quandary, and then said "We're not trying to fool anyone. We just want them to look as good as they really are. Thick and thirsty." Here I learned a cardinal rule of photography: Terry cloth loses fifty percent of it's apparent weight when photographed. Shame that doesn't work for people.

I also learned that Niven and Pournelle's Inferno gave an apt asessment of the fate of ad men in Hell. They stand in piles of dung, excreted by themselves. Instead of mouths, they have a second anus. A cursory viewing of AMC's Mad Men will show the utter justice of this image. Likewise a perusal of punditry in the US.

I didn't last long in the job.

A friend of mine several years ago was pushing me to run for the State House. His strategery was of concern to me. He insisted that I should run as a Democrat, because that would be the only way to get elected in our State. That way I could Work for Change from the inside.

I opted out. Didn't much care for the idea of the alien probing my family and I would have to endure at the hands of the newsies, either. Hmmm...I may have more candidates for the ad-men's fate.

Lies upon lies, and the pols believe that we will swallow them like a tasty treat. Sadly, too often we do.