Does Political Office Attract Liars?

Well, I think you all know the answer to that question.  It’s probably both.

Newt Gingrich is a millionaire who was caught in yet another lie when he publicly stated that one of his former wives is lying about his request for an open marriage and he has two “friends” as witnesses.  It turns out that his “friends” are his two daughters who have already said that their Dad never did so.  By the way, how many kids do you know who would be present when their Dad asked Mom to permit him to screw around with another woman?

The problem with lying is that eventually you can’t recall everything you previously stated and then, as a sociopath, the lies become the truth you remember.  Gingrich and Mitt Romney are guilty of that and of not recognizing the truth even if they trip over it.  Gingrich’s main problem is that his supreme arrogance and abrasive personality will always exceed his popularity.

The next interesting view on Mitt Romney is that “he is too rich” to become President.  After all, how can such a wealthy person relate at all to the majority of hardworking and hardly working Americans?  Insult to injury is that Romney made $42 million in the past two years and the guy hasn’t even been employed during that time period.  It is all interest income!  His payment in personal taxes was $3 million, which is a 14 percent tax rate and is a much lower rate than what most Americans pay.

Rick Santorum, a former practicing attorney, is still pushing his “poor, blue-collar” image to capture the votes of the hardly working class.  Santorum earned $1.3 million in 2010 and the first half of 2011. The largest portion of his employment earnings, $332,000, was from his work as a consultant for industry interest groups, including Consol Energy and American Continental Group.  He is anti-abortion and also pro-intelligent design that he once wanted taught as part of the science curriculum in public schools.  Perhaps most disturbing and dangerous is that Santorum is an angry pro-war hawk.

So that leaves us with Ron Paul.  Most Americans now know that Paul was a doctor [OBGYN] for much of his career. Paul is fond of stating that he doesn’t have the extreme wealth of his GOP rivals; however;  Ron Paul’s wealth is estimated at approximately $5 million, which is not too shabby.  Still, Paul does NOT accept large contributions from wealthy corporations, lobbyists and individual special interests.  In this realm, he is one of the select and more ethical politicians.  Some of Paul’s rigid and somewhat antiquated views on an isolationist foreign policy, the Federal Reserve Bank and a few other issues may cost him the Primary.

President Barack Obama is no slouch in wealth.  He and his team will soon raise $1 billion in campaign contributions.

Most likely, 94 percent of Americans will continue to struggle at least for the next five years and if the middle class is not restored to its previous status, the American society we once knew and loved will become as extinct as the saber-tooth tiger and wooly mammoth.

Peter Stern, a former director of information services, university professor and public school administrator, is a disabled Vietnam veteran who lives in Driftwood, Texas.