While the current president was flummoxing over pushback from his lovefest with Vladimir Putin, former president Barack Obama was in South Africa lecturing about how truth is now up for debate and how politicians stand by baseless claims after they’re proved wrong. “We see the utter loss of shame among political leaders, where they’re caught in a lie and they just double down and lie some more,” he said. “Look, let me say: Politicians have always lied, but it used to be that if you caught them lying, they’d be like, ‘Ah, man.’” Now they just change would to wouldn’t. Sort of a double negative. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and CEO
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2018.
