If Their Lips Are Moving, They're Lying

I admit it… I’m a political news junkie. I will watch most news stories and interviews about this presidential race and choose that over Dancing with the Stars, American Idol and many of the most popular shows. But as we enter into the twilight of this presidential primary season, I am finding myself going back to the mainstream programs in lieu of listening to pundits and surrogates over and over and over again.

Don’t get me wrong. I can sit there and listen to Obama spokespeople all day long. Their perspectives are refreshing, insightful, honest and engaging. I just can’t stomach any longer listening to Clinton surrogates and spokespeople spinning, exaggerating, positing implausible scenarios or, yes, sometimes simply not telling the truth.

I have been treated to Clinton, even this morning, bragging that she leads in popular vote totals and actually adding delegates in Michigan and Florida that technically don’t exist. I have heard Clinton people proclaiming that just last week, Obama was ahead in North Carolina by thirty points over Clinton, that Obama was always ahead in Indiana and that it’s just amazing that she’ll win when Obama has been predicting victory in Indiana for months.

I have heard Bill Clinton using racial hate speech several times, and when called on it, trying to pin it on Obama’s race-baiting. I have heard the CEO of the Black Entertainment Network standing up after an event using extremely incendiary comments to negatively describe Barack Obama. I witnessed Geraldine Ferraro boldly stating that Obama wouldn’t have any prominence if he wasn’t black, and I won’t even mention the hypocrisy, hate and complete disingenuousness that Clinton, her surrogates and the media itself have dealt with the Jeremiah Wright issue.

I actually thought that I’d write this blog in a satirical manner, falsely attributing far-fetched and hard-to-believe comments to Clinton people, but frankly, at this point, my attempt at humor and reality is too blurred. We have gotten to the point where Clinton surrogates have really become mouthpieces, similar to Fox News news readers, where they get today’s talking points and go out there and shout ‘em out.

If anyone can tell me whether Clinton or any of her people, from her husband on down, have actually addressed a question with honesty, integrity and without a tinge of spin, will you let me know? The other day, I watched Lanny Davis, a favorite of certain political talking head programs who speaks for Clinton, and although the rest of the panel rightly pointed out that Obama has satisfactorily dealt with the Wright issue and that the controversy is now off the front page, he says, “No. I don’t think Obama has answered the question of why he sat there for twenty years listening to that.” He was immediately attacked with incredulity by the panel, but he just shrugged and gave that annoying little smirk I’ve seen on him before.

I for one am way more than ready for this Democratic primary season to be over so that we can turn our attention to John McCain. He’s got his own set of spinmeisters, but they’re tame compared to Hillary Clinton’s, in my opinion. I feel that Obama will give McCain more than he can handle, and that this country is ready to move on and turn this page in history. I am hopeful that today marks the turning point where Barack receives enough pledged delegates to put Hillary Clinton too far out of this race to mathematically recover and that the superdelegates recognize that and jump off the fence and into the Obama camp.