Omision, Deception, and Politics

In almost every presidential election since Jefferson v. Adams, political tactics have been used to advance one's cause in becoming president. Throughout the years, candidates have used omission and deception to get elected. Whether its an economic liberal avoiding the issue of taxes or a social conservative avoiding the issue of personal freedoms, the tactic of omission is popular...as long as the topic is never debated. It crucial that a candidate not do this because of the importance of every issue. Deception, one might say, is as dirty as it gets. When your competitor begins to falsely speak of your record, twist your words, and unfairly bring your personal affairs into the race, he/she is resorting to 'do anything, say anything politics.' It is a shame that a race can come down information that includes anything, but the most important, critical issues. Unfortunately, that's just human nature and it will never stop.

To relate those points to an article I recently read, Sarah Palin claimed, "Barack had 94 opportunities to side on the people's side and reduce taxes, and 94 times he voted to increase taxes or not support a tax reduction — 94 times." Although this is true, one must dig deeper to determine the truth of the statement. When one does dig deeper, he or she will find that about twenty percent of those ninety-four votes included tax-increases for some, but tax cuts for others. A great majority of the votes included votes on amendments that "could not have resulted by themselves in raising taxes, though many were clear statements of approval for increased taxes. Also, the total included duplications. This is an example of how politicians, be they running for president, governor, or mayor, will try to deceive the public. And by no means do these actions only occur on one side of the aisle.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/02/fact-check-94-times/#more-22199