Free Republic

GREENWICH, CONN. IT has been said that American politics and professional wres tling share a paucity of honest emotions. But Linda McMahon, who as CEO built World Wrestling Entertainment into a billion-dollar company, might think comparing wrestling to politics insults wrestling. As she seeks the Senate seat being vacated by Chris Dodd, she says the honesty deficit concerns not emotions but facts. Her Democratic opponent, Richard Blumenthal, who served six years in the Legislature, has been Connecticut's attorney general for 20 years, so he knows how to parse sentences. Yet his penchant for (to be polite) tactical imprecision goes beyond...

The honesty and transparency themes are driving much of voter sentiment in this election. It helps explain the surprising success of Republican candidate Mike Huckabee. And we see similar dynamics with the Democratic candidates. Consider a "The Economist/YouGov'' poll out last week. When Democratic voters were asked which phrases they would use to describe their candidates, results included the following: * Honesty: Obama 54 percent, Clinton 35 percent. * Moral: Obama 54 percent, Clinton 34 percent. * Religious: Obama 29 percent, Clinton 19 percent. * Says what he/she believes: Obama 60 percent, Clinton 39 percent. Clinton's growing image of untrustworthiness...