Keller @ Large: Will They Stop Using The Word 'Liar'?
BOSTON (CBS) - Did you catch John McCain on the CBS Early Show yesterday morning?
Whatever his faults, Senator McCain is one of the more thoughtful figures in politics today.
I guess five years in a North Vietnamese prison gives you plenty of time to hone your skills of reflection.
Anyway, McCain, who endorsed Mitt Romney this week, was asked about the comment by Newt Gingrich that Romney is lying about his record and his beliefs.
"He's not telling the American people the truth," said Gingrich, who termed Romney's claim that he's a conservative a "pretense…. I don't think he's being candid."
McCain's response: "I don't think it's appropriate to call your opponent a liar. That's just something we don't do in politics unless you certainly have some overwhelming proof."
Change that to "something we shouldn't do" and I agree with every word of his statement.
When you call someone a liar, you're going beyond saying 'I strongly disagree with what you're saying,' or 'you got your facts wrong,' or even that 'you're distorting the truth.'
Use the word "liar" and you are challenging the basic integrity of your target.
Unless, as McCain suggests, you can prove the alleged lie is a product of calculated dishonesty, it's nothing more than a rhetorical smear tactic, designed to incite a personal backlash against you rather than address a policy disagreement.
Kind of like the effort – still ongoing in the nether reaches of Donald Trump's forehead – to claim President Obama is lying about his place of birth.
Was Newt Gingrich a liar when he claimed he was hired by Fannie Mae as a "historian," not a lobbyist?
I'd call that putting a spin on the facts, something voters should be wary of, but not a moral crime on the level of lying.
If spin becomes a crime, there won't be enough politicians out of jail to fill the seats in Congress.
I agree with John McCain, they shouldn't call each other liars.
But does anyone doubt they will continue to do so?
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
