Skip to content
Main Street Plaza

A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism.

Main Street Plaza

A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism.

Judge Him By His Own Words

Hellmut, September 13, 2008

They speak for themselves:

Politics

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

Don’t Lie to Letterman, McCain

September 25, 2008May 17, 2011

From Andrew: “You may get away with lying to the rest of us, but this man is powerful enough to expose you – and ridicule you. Here’s another surreal moment in a campaign where pop cultural figures are standing up to raw lies and power as effectively as the MSM….

Read More

Federal govt must investigate NOMs finances

September 24, 2009October 1, 2011

Guest post by Danielle Truszkovsky. BEFORE WRITING THIS column, I sat and stared at my computer screen for what seemed like ages trying to figure out a way to make the topic of IRS regulations seem a bit more interesting. Lets face it, most people just dont want to read…

Read More

Beyond Conservatism

September 4, 2008September 4, 2008

The popularity of the Sarah Palins among the Republican base explains a lot about America. I have never been to Alaska but Palin reminds me of my friends and neighbors in rural Nevada. Her attitudes about sex education, evolution, and library books are fairly typical in broad swaths of the…

Read More

Comments (11)

  1. Guy Noir, Private Eye says:
    September 14, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    both McCain’s & Palin’s records/lack of being in touch with Both the TRUTH & Middle Americans is pathetic.
    While S.Palin will appeal/shore up some neo-con appeal, they are sure to alienate those who were having trouble with H.Clinton’s loss of the nomination.
    ‘I wonder how they sleep at night’….

  2. Craig says:
    September 14, 2008 at 6:56 pm

    Not just out of touch, but blatant, unsophisticated liars – especially Palin.

  3. Hellmut says:
    September 15, 2008 at 5:55 am

    I hope that the American people will call McCain and Palin on their lies. If they get away with it and win the election then politicians will treat us as fools for the next twenty years.

  4. Seth R. says:
    September 15, 2008 at 10:13 am

    You know, I’d tut-tut about this if didn’t have a sneaky suspicion that someone’s probably put out an almost identical video on Obama.

  5. Hellmut says:
    September 15, 2008 at 12:05 pm

    There is a lot to criticize about both parties but the notion that the short comings of both sides are commensurate is not rationally sustainable, Seth.

    Bill Clinton was not my favorite person but I have to admit that we were a lot better off during his government. Inflation was low, growth steady and the incomes of working Americans were increasing for the first time since the late seventies.

    Whatever the imperfections of Democrats, at least they are not waging war on science. They do have a minimum commitment to reality.

    Look at McCain and Palin, by contrast, they are still repeating the verfiable lie that she opposed the bridge to nowhere.

    Right now, we cannot even be sure if John McCain understands the difference between Sunnis and Shia. But the same man wants to pick wars with Iran and Russia while our bridges are falling down and American seniors have trouble paying the electricity bill.

    Whatever may be wrong with Obama, it does not rise to this level.

    It would sure be nice to have a really smart president for a change. We have enough to do with two wars, the financial system unraveling, the federal budget out of control and people losing buying power every month.

  6. Seth R. says:
    September 15, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    Look, I’m not a McCain supporter.

    It’s just that I know you can comb the record of ANY public individual and find plenty of instances of double-speak.

    I rarely ever reject a politician based on double-speak or “flip-flopping.” If I agree with his policies, I’ll elect him. If I don’t, I won’t.

    Consistency has nothing to do with it.

  7. Hellmut says:
    September 15, 2008 at 2:23 pm

    I would agree if you had said that there are good reasons to change one’s mind. In many cases, mental flexibility is a virtue, which might include learning and adaptation to new conditions.

    I am not sure that your rejection of consistency is on target.

    If the proper way to choose a candidate is to review his or her views, consistency would have to be relevant, wouldn’t it?

    You cannot simultaneously be for and against the Bush tax cuts and the resulting budget deficit at the same time.

    Finally, I am sure that it is possible to produce an embarrassing video of Barack Obama but nothing close to this.

    Reality matters and McCain is no longer striving for reality.

  8. Seth R. says:
    September 15, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    Hey, if you’re looking for someone to defend McCain, I definitely ain’t your man. I’ve got enough to argue about on the internet without adding this to the pile.

  9. Hellmut says:
    September 15, 2008 at 5:40 pm

    You are a good guy, Seth. 😉

  10. chanson says:
    September 16, 2008 at 7:29 am

    I rarely ever reject a politician based on double-speak or “flip-flopping.”

    Right, but this is more than changing his policy or tailoring his message.

    You know, I’d tut-tut about this if didn’t have a sneaky suspicion that someone’s probably put out an almost identical video on Obama.

    This is the reaction the McCain campaign is banking on:

    “Of course they lie, both sides lie. I don’t care if they lie. If lying is what it takes for my team to win, then lie away!”

    I know you (Seth) are not specifically defending McCain, and I’m not trying to pick on you here. But I think this particular attitude has become the norm, and it dramatically benefits politicians who don’t even bother to try not to blatantly lie right and left over politicians that are fundamentally honest.

    I saw a great article about it today here:

    McCain and Palin are doing something interesting. They’ve apparently decided that if the media covers only controversy and that the media will not call people on lies, but dutifully report “both sides,” then they’re going to just lie and see what happens. They get to not only frame the debate, but take ideal positions having nothing to do with reality.

  11. Hellmut says:
    September 17, 2008 at 8:46 am

    You said it so much better than me, Chanson.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Mormon Alumni Association Books

Latest Comments:

  1. Collecting Nominations for William Law X-Mormon of the Year 2025!!! – Main Street Plaza on Congratulations 2024 Brodie Award Winners!!!!November 26, 2025

    […] ask: “When is RFM going to win?” Well, he has won — plenty of Brodie Awards (see 2024 for…

  2. Donna Banta on A pox on the PoX policy, ten years onNovember 5, 2025

    If Oaks meant to imply anything by picking a counselor with a gay brother it was, "See, we can hate…

  3. @Monya_PostMo on A pox on the PoX policy, ten years onNovember 5, 2025

    See post and comments at Latter Gay Stories - heartbreaking! No loving God was involved in that policy https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=latter%20gay%20stories

  4. chanson on A pox on the PoX policy, ten years onNovember 5, 2025

    I remember when the PoX was rolled out, and the tales of its horrible effects. So, now I guess same…

  5. @Monya_PostMo on A pox on the PoX policy, ten years onNovember 5, 2025

    Oaks reasoned that if preference wasn't built into the law, all of society could move toward homosexual marriage and could…

8: The Mormon Proposition Acceptance of Gays Add new tag Affirmation angry exmormon awards Book Reviews BYU comments Conformity Dallin H. Oaks DAMU disaffected mormon underground Dustin Lance Black Ex-Mormon Exclusion policy Excommunicated exmormon faith Family feminism Gay Gay Love Gay Marriage Gay Relationships General Conference Happiness Homosexual Homosexuality LDS LGBT LGBTQ Link Bomb missionaries Modesty Mormon Mormon Alumni Association Mormonism motherhood peace politics Polygamy priesthood ban Sunstone temple

Awards

William Law X-Mormon of the Year:

  • 2024: Nemo the Mormon
  • 2023: Adam Steed
  • 2022: David Archuleta
  • 2021: Jeff T. Green
  • 2020: Jacinda Ardern
  • 2019: David Nielsen
  • 2018: Sam Young
  • 2017: Savannah
  • 2016: Jeremy Runnells
  • 2015: John Dehlin
  • 2014: Kate Kelly
  • 2013: J. Seth Anderson and Michael Ferguson
  • 2012: David Tweede
  • 2011: Joanna Brooks
  • 2010: Monica Bielanko
  • 2009: Walter Kirn

Other Cool Sites!

WasMormon.org
©2025 Main Street Plaza | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes