Wither, the truth??

"'You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.' - Daniel Patrick Moynihan."

Many have said that our current President is an uncommonly good liar. Even though last night on CNN, he called out the Republicans for "lying", when they said Biden and his party have advocated the defunding of police. Now I am going to do something which will astound many of my peeps. I am going to give Biden the benefit of the doubt. Since it is evident to anyone who pays a half a grain of attention, the President is a few fries short of a happy meal. Maybe he is lying, maybe he is just becoming more and more forgetful.

That being said, lying in Washington has become an artform. I am now going to draw a distinction between lying and embellishing. Donald Trump liked to embellish. Not uncommon. I have known many in my lifetime who have been embellishers. Also known as "BSers". Embellishing is similar to lying in only one regard - it becomes a habit. It become a habit so much so, that people embellish without even realizing they are doing it. Lying however, starts out being very deliberate. And it progresses from there.

People lie to further their own agendas, or to save their skin. You see lying all the time in courtrooms. Someone is charged with a crime, and then pleads not-guilty. Even if the person knows in his or her heart, a crime was committed, and they were responsible for it. Then Pleading not-guilty is a lie. A lie to save their own skin. 

But lying to further an agenda, is a puzzlement to me. This is endemic in Washington. How a politician can look into the camera, and knowingly trample on the truth, is beyond me. Biden did it numerous times, when he has been asked about Hunter and Burisma. That was a combination of furthering his agenda, AND saving Hunter's (and maybe his own), skin.

"You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Joe Biden would do well to heed the advice of this great Democrat. False facts, false narratives, become nothing more than just falsehoods. In other words - lies. The worst thing you can say about a person's character (in my opinion), is that person is an uncommonly good liar. Or, that person is at variance with the truth. There are many others, but you get my point.

In the future Joe, you would be wise to refrain from calling others a liar. Why? The old saying goes, that when you point your finger at someone, three fingers are pointed back at yourself. Honesty and integrity are two virtues which are in short supply in Washington. We expert more from the people who represent us. A lot more.