Deception Shapes Public Opinion

"Leading the nation wrongfully into war strikes at the heart of democracy," writes Paul Krugman today, noting what might once have been too obvious to mention. (The War President, New York Times, June 24, 2005.)

Is the Bush administration's phony case for the Iraq war yesterday's issue, a pointless distraction from current problems?

No, Krugman points out. The same administration is continuing to distort public debate on current issues. "We need to deprive these people of their ability to mislead and intimidate," he says.

Krugman is right. Undertaking a costly war that informed voters might well have rejected should be all the warning needed that democracy cannot function if the political culture is too primitive and irrational.

Voters' opinions on many important public issues are routinely manipulated through deception and manipulation. This is the state of public debate today. These methods should not continue to be rewarded. The deceivers are undermining democracy. To protect democracy, they must be exposed.

Related: Mistaken War