Wacky Wednesday--Politicians Shouldn’t Be Honest

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~Opponents aren't, and you have to compete with them to win.
~The stakes are too high to put principles like honesty above the need for victory.
~All of politics is compromise with our principles.
~You can't do anything good (or stop evil) if you aren't in office.
~Nobody really cares that politicians lie, in part because we all believe they all do it.
~If you don't tell people what they want to hear, they won't vote for you.
~Given the foolishness of people, lying is the only plausible option.
~Even if you're caught, there is always a way to nuance and spin out of it.
~Journalists lie about you, why should you bother starting by telling the truth anyhow?
~People say they want honest politicians, but they also say they hate the news being so negative all the time. And yet news media based on positive news only, just like honest politicians, never succeeds.
~It's okay to lie to your enemy in warfare, and democracy is proxy warfare.
~If deception is allowed in all sorts of inconsequential games, such as in sports, cards, board games, etc. and of course in warfare, why not in politics also?
~People clearly show that they don’t want to know the truth based on how they vote for dishonest politicians.
~It’s more important for us to have faith in our leaders than for them to be men who really deserve that faith. So we want to be lied to in order to preserve our rosy view of government.
~It doesn’t matter whether they lie. It matters whether they successfully guide the Republic in a good direction.
~Effective lying is a vital negotiating tool amongst legislators, so vetting a candidate for his ability to lie is just a way of getting highly qualified candidates.

Links:
Why politicians should lie (US News)
Why politicians should lie about their sex lives
Why politicians have to lie (Thinking Hard)