Andrew Coyne: Harper Has Learned Well

We have now had a procession of leaders who have shown such astonishing disregard for the truth, or their word, or both, that it no longer particularly shocks us. We expect it, in fact. So much so, that we no longer think to punish those who deceive us; rather, we reward them for it, preferring to punish those so foolish as to tell us truths we would prefer not to hear. We say we want honest politicians, but our actions give us away. We are just as much a fraud as they. We are not dealing here with random slips of the tongue, or minor flip-flops. Nor are we in the realm of calculated ambiguity, in which every politician occasionally takes refuge. We are talking about clear and unambiguous statements on the central issues of the day that turn out to be so much wind. http://tinyurl.com/2o47vg [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on April 10, 2007]

Note: http://tinyurl.com/2o47vg