WHEN YOU LIE LIKE A RUG: A TRUMP STORY

Donald Trump spends a lot of time, and a lot of money, on making it look as if he has a full head of hair . Thanks to the careful research of The Daily Mail, we now know how the illusion is created.

I don’t know about you, but I find this a little unsettling in a man making a run for president of the United States.  And it becomes even more so when you hear this fellow, who has never held office in his life, align himself with the lunatic fringe, er, sorry, the “Birther Movement.”

You see, most of us like to believe that the folks we elect to the presidency have at least a propensity for truth telling.  And for most of us, one irrefutable lie is enough to sink a person’s credibility entirely.  That is why American courts have given the Falsus in Uno charge to jurors for generations. Once a witness tells a lie, we are entitled to believe that everything else he says is a lie, too.

So, back to Donald Trump.  At least Sy Sperling, former owner of Hairclub For Men, would tell us at the end of his commercial, “I’m not just the president of Hair Club for Men. I’m a client, too.” And we’d see the “before” photo.  And that built trust.  Whether you wanted to actually buy a rug or not, you sensed that Mr. Sperling was not going to fleece you in the process.

Let’s take a hard look at Mr. Trump. To say he is all about image is to understate the point.  The “hair” is only part of it. The succession of trophy wives is a factor.  The name boldly emblazoned on any piece of property he has ever sneezed on adds to the picture.  Consider, too, the selective story-telling about his career, which tends to leave out the spectacular failures. Think about the complete lack of anything close to political experience.  And then think about how Fox news is already trying to portray Trump as an outsider, a regular guy who speaks his mind, just like regular people (hat tip to Political Carnival for pointing out this clip). Yes, he’s even got Reagan-like qualities, they say.

Trump hasn’t yet bothered saying anything of substance about what he stands for, and frankly, I don’t think anyone really expects that from him.  The only thing we can be sure of is that if he succeeds in his quest for the Presidency, the White House will be re-named The Trump Federal Palace.  And if he continues allowing himself to be the Pinocchio to Fox News’ Geppetto, he may just get there.