Truth and Context

One of the things we discuss in Democracy Despite Itself is how voters respond more to what they think a candidate said than what a candidate actually said–which is exactly why it's more important for candidates to sound slick and polished than to tell the truth.

Take the case of Rick Santorum and the unemployment rate. Santorum gave a speech yesterday in which he stated a deeply held belief–in fact, one that most independent economists would agree with (albeit with some caveats). Santorum a...