Should We Even Try to Take Politicians Seriously?

Tim White's been doing a great job moderating debates for the various political races of the season, and the Congressional District 1 debate was no different. I'll confess, though, that I find it difficult to take answers seriously or to expect that debates will provide a reliable impression of who candidates are. In that respect, this answer from Bill Lynch is a classic of the genre:

White asked Lynch why voters should trust him to "get anything done" in Congress, given his "hyper-partisan" role as state Democratic Party chairman for more than a decade.

"That was my job, and I was proud of the job I did," Lynch responded. "I was never afraid to stand up and speak my mind. And frankly, I think that that's something that the people of Rhode Island want and need ... now in Washington."

"That was my job" implies that people shouldn't hold him but so accountable, as if he really is "hyper-partisan," which is a spin he's tried previously on WPRO. But that he would characterize his performance at that job as "speak[ing] my mind" suggests that he was a natural fit for the role.

The answer, in other words, is clearly that voters cannot trust him to be anything other than hyper-partisan, but he wants to claim to be some sort of an independent outsider while assuring his fellow Democrats that he'll always and ever be their boy.