Paul Waldman says in politics, truthfulness is a virtue — except where it matters most.
The problem is that we have a rather unusual set of unspoken rules that we apply — or that the press applies on our behalf — to determine which lies matter and which don’t, which are so consequential — and so indicative of something dark and dangerous lurking within the politician’s heart — as to disqualify one from office, and which can be ignored because “everybody says that sort of thing.”
