The L Word.

Can you be a guy who just lies a lot but is not really a liar? Hmmm, that's the question Paul Waldman is asking in his excellent article for The American Prospect.

"Is Mitt Romney a guy who tells a bunch of lies, or is he a liar? That the question Jonathan Chait asks, and he winds up sort-of defending Romney, saying that his lies, many of which revolve around his effort to deny his own history, have been practical in nature. "It's Romney's bad luck that fate has dictated his only path to the presidency lies in being a huge liar," Chait says, so those lies don't tell us much about what's deep in Romney's character.

There are two problems here. The first is that Romney lies about President Obama as often as he lies about himself. It's just that when he does the former, he does it with actual squirming (if he's sitting down), the phoniest smile you've ever seen, and panic in his eyes, so it's really obvious. The second problem is that Chait's distinction applies to pretty much every political liar in history. There's always a reason why a politician lies. The biggest lies come when they get caught doing something they shouldn't have (Nixon with Watergate, Reagan with Iran-Contra, Clinton with Monica Lewinsky). They might be telling themselves, "Taking responsibility is all well and good, but it's better for the country if I get out of this scandal and continue with my duties."' [Source]

The L word is being thrown around for my man Flipper because folks are starting to finally catch on. I have to wonder why it took so long. The man has been lying from day one. In fact, one could argue that his entire campaign in the republican primary has been built on a lie. (Etch A Sketch anyone?)

"During a debate in November, when moderator Wolf Blitzer introduced himself by saying that "Wolf" is really his first name, Romney greeted the audience by saying, "I'm Mitt Romney, and yes, Wolf, that's also my first name." In fact, Willard is his first name. It's a lie notable for being so mundane: Why would someone fudge their name? It's almost as if he can't control himself."

I don't think he can.

Pic courtesy of Art Maggot.