John McCain recently seems to have little problem uttering such blatantly false and idiotic statements that it  makes President Bush look like a statesman.

Today, Sen McCain said that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, very difficult times.”

He said this the same day that investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch narrowly missed insolvency by selling itself to Bank of America. Saying that while two of the four remaining large investment banks on Wall Street give up the ghost is a rather clueless statement but he managed to top that later in the day by redefining what economic fundamentals are.

And my opponents may disagree, but those fundamentals — the American worker and their innovation, their entrepreneurship, the small business, those are the fundamentals of America, and I think they’re strong

It’s not just that his opponents disagree, the entire field of macroeconomic theory disagrees with him. American economic fundamentals are the inflation rate, gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment rate,  and other hard measurable factors.  According to Forbes magazine, core inflation “is up 3.6% over the past twelve months, the fastest unadjusted annual pace since May 1991.” Real GDP has been shrinking each year since 2004, and unemployment has gone up considerably since August 2007 from 4.7% to 6.1%. The sky may not be falling but these are not strong fundamentals.

This isn’t just a misstatement or an unusual errant assertion. Senator McCain has increasingly been making statements that are a blatant denial of reality.

Setting aside the normal political blather and partial truths both campaigns have engaged in, John McCain actually had the gall to publicly state that “in the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations” after Russia invaded Georgia last month. Upon hearing that, I was half-expecting his head to implode from cognitive dissonance or to see him struck by lightning for saying it.

I expected a much more honest and higher level of discourse from him. For a man who sells himself as a straight talker, he’s been anything but the past couple months. What happened to you, John McCain?

The political euphemism glossary, which is non-partisan and being built gradually, is a catalog of the tools, words, and phrases used by political minds to shape how we think or worse, lull us into such a complacency we fail to critically think at all.

The next euphemism to enter the complete glossary is below. Click on the phrase below for the political definition and description.

Energy Recovery

The political euphemism glossary, which is non-partisan and being built gradually, is a catalog of the tools, words, and phrases used by political minds to shape how we think or worse, lull us into such a complacency we fail to critically think at all.

The next euphemism to enter the complete glossary is below. Click on the phrase below for the political definition and description.

Support The Troops

The political euphemism glossary, which is non-partisan and being built gradually, is a catalog of the tools, words, and phrases used by political minds to shape how we think or worse, lull us into such a complacency we fail to critically think at all.

The next euphemism to enter the complete glossary is below. Click on the word below for the political definition and description.

Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

The political euphemism glossary, which is non-partisan and being built gradually, is a catalog of the tools, words, and phrases used by political minds to shape how we think or worse, lull us into such a complacency we fail to critically think at all.

The next euphemism to enter the complete glossary is below. Click on the word below for the political definition and description.

Undocumented Workers

The political euphemism glossary, which is non-partisan and being built gradually, is a catalog of the tools, words, and phrases used by political minds to shape how we think or worse, lull us into such a complacency we fail to critically think at all.

The next euphemism to enter the complete glossary is below. Click on the word below for the political definition and description.

Legislatively Directed Spending

The political euphemism glossary, which is non-partisan and being built gradually, is a catalog of the tools, words, and phrases used by political minds to shape how we think or worse, lull us into such a complacency we fail to critically think at all.

The next euphemism to enter the glossary is below. Click on the word below for the political definition and description.

Surge

The political euphemism glossary, which is non-partisan and being built gradually, is a catalog of the tools, words, and phrases used by political minds to shape how we think or worse, lull us into such a complacency we fail to critically think at all.

The next euphemism to enter the glossary is below. Click on the word for more information.

Pro-Life

Political euphemisms are used to describe commonly understood concepts so that they align with one’s political viewpoint. Sometimes the political agenda embedded in the phrase is obvious and strident. Often times a term is used to make an unpalatable concept seem acceptable, if not desirable. Most insidious is when a euphemism is used to conceal the reality of the concept and make it appear to be something it most definitely is not.

Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language“

Frequently we aren’t even aware of the political undertones embedded in the phrases and words we use because we are not the one’s who developed them. They were handed to us predefined and packaged. We are a 24 hour mass media culture living at a frenetic pace where fast news has taken on the same qualities of fast food: pre-shaped, pre-packaged, easy to get, easy to eat, predictable flavor, and requiring minimal thought or effort while leaving you satisfied even though it was devoid of nutritional content.

Think about political euphemisms like a gift that is handed to us. What is the gift? It is a bare, neutral concept that comes gift wrapped. If someone handed you a gift inside a beautifully wrapped container with bright colors, ribbons, and attached balloons, you’d likely be happy and perhaps even excited to accept it simply based on how wonderful it appears. How would you react if that same gift was wrapped in used, greasy, newsprint that smelled strongly of fish and stained your fingers with ink when you held it? Are you still excited to accept that gift? Keep in mind that inside the gift wrap is the exact same bare, neutral concept. Perhaps that gift is something you’d like but it’s wrapped in such an unappealing way that it’s hard to imagine wanting whatever is actually inside. Maybe the gift is something you really don’t want but it’s wrapped so attractively that you feel compelled to accept it. This is how politicians use language to manipulate public discourse.

The political euphemism glossary, which will be non-partisan and built gradually, will be a catalog of the tools, words, and phrases used by political minds to shape how we think or worse, lull us into such a complacency we fail to critically think at all.

The first euphemism to enter the glossary is below. Click on the word for more information.

Pro-Choice