DCFOUNTAIN.COM

Few Americans could have been as deeply disappointed as me to hear John Edwards’ recent admission of an affair two years ago — confirming tabloid rumors that, like many, I had refused to believe. An early and ardent supporter of his candidacy, I had considered him above such indiscretions. Yet, I cannot get past the outright disgust over the needless waste of time and attention now devoted to what is in truth a moot issue, with probably the most critical election in decades quickly bearing down on us.

If there were ever a year in which the last defenders of civility cry out for a truth-in-advertising law for politics, 2008 apparently will not be it. Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus today laments the pervasive untruths swirling around this election season — destroying in their path any hope we may have had for an honest campaign. You know the routine: mock, lie, distort, mislead, feign insult — then repeat often enough until the message is accepted as fact.