HAVE WE FOUND AN HONEST POLITICIAN?

Well, with the onehundrdayiversary behind us, it is time to answer the age old question: Have we found an honest politician?

Why is honesty important, anyway?

Is there some reason why truth telling should be expected from, of all things, politicians?

Here's the way I have always thought of it: If you lie to me about something, that means I can't trust you when you speak about whatever it was you were speaking about when you lied.

At this point it becomes difficult for me to know what things you say I can trust, and what things you say I can't trust.

So I just ask you to make me a list of things I can trust you on and what things I can't.

Now all I have to do is determine whether you made me an honest list.

Let's do a little examining of President BO's "list."

On March 24th, President BO gave a press conference at which he said, "Our assumptions are perfectly consistent with what Blue Chip forecasters out there are saying."

He was referring to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators, a survey of forecasts from 50 private economists.

Turns out, that was a false statement.

In fact a recent Blue Chip forecast was far more pessimistic than the administration’s budget projections.

That's important because a weaker economic performance will produce even larger federal deficits than the Obama budget already forecasts.

In the same news conference, President BO proclaimed, “we are reducing non defense discretionary spending to its lowest level since the '60s.”

Well, President BO's own forecast puts this figure higher than in many years under Reagan, Clinton or either Bush.

On February 24th, the President told a joint session of Congress, "we import more oil today than ever before."

That wasn't true.

Oil imports hit their peak in 2005 and are lower today.

In a March 10 address on education, President BO said that the high school dropout rate has "tripled in the past 30 years."

In point of fact, the high school drop-out rate actually declined by one-third.

One of President BO's repeated boasts is that his stimulus bill will "create or save" 3.5 million jobs.

Since the President took office, however, the economy has been losing an average of 22,000 jobs per day.

On April 16, during his visit to Mexico, President BO said, "More than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States."

In actuality, there's no way to know exactly how many come through the U.S., since Mexican officials don't ask the U.S. to trace the guns they recover. The 90% figure is just made up.

Let's go back to that March 25th speech again, in which the President proclaimed that he was “angry” about “inexcusable” bonuses paid to AIG executives.

The fact that his own aides watered down a Senate-passed amendment that was designed to prevent payment of such bonuses.

Speaking about the U.S. budget, President BO asserted that his budget will cut the federal deficit in half by the end of his term.

What he failed to say was that they would sky-rocket so high before the end of his term that cutting them in half by then would still leave them obscenely higher than they are today. And, deficits also are projected to shoot up again later unless big policy changes are made.

Our venerable President said, "...we must also address the crushing cost of health care. This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds."

Now there was a bankruptcy about every 30 seconds last year, but U.S. court data and a Harvard study both attribute only about half of those to health related issues.

Call it an honest case of ignorance, if you want to, but President BO, addressing the auto industry and its woes said, "I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."

Uh, excuse me, Sir, but, ahem...the U.S. did not invent the automobile. That would be the French, German or Scotts, depending on what you classify as a legitimate automobile.

Not satisfied with limiting transportation issues to cars and trucks, the President stated, "In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry."

Fact: Construction of the transcontinental railroad did not begin until after the Civil War.

The same President who visited 57 states during his campaign told us, "there are 57 police officers who are still on the streets of Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their department was about to make." (Referencing the stimulus plan)

In truth, there had been no planned layoffs of police officers in Minneapolis.

I guess it could be said that the stimulus package helped Minneapolis not make plans to lay off 57 police officers, should they ever be inclined to do so.

I cannot tell you how many comments on other blogs I have read righteously proclaiming President BO's promise of a tax cut for "95 percent of working households."

Included in this figure is a little known inclusion of a tax refund to people who pay no taxes in the first place, because their income is so low.

That's like going to Sears and demanding a refund on a refrigerator I did not buy! (Try it and let me know how it worked out for you).

May I point out that all of this took place in just the first 100 days of President BO's presidency?

I can hardly wait to find out what the next hundred days brings.

I ask again, with regard to President BO...have we found an honest politician?

Writer's note: Don't bother telling me about Reagans' "lies," or Bush's "lies." I'm not referring to them. I am referring to President Barack H. Obama. Get it? This is NOT a comparison session...it is made with the hope that we have finally found an honest president. Hint: The answer is, "No."