Hollow Sound

I read this Op-Ed piece the other day over lunch and agree with the central point Richard Cohen makes. Entitled He Only Plays a Straight Shooter, Cohen goes after both Fred Thompson and John Edwards for their recently revealed glaring inconsistencies. Here’s an excerpt:

Edwards and Thompson have something in common: They both are all image. Neither has accomplished very much in public life. They are both ex-senators whose names are attached to no famous pieces of legislation. They have built no constituencies on the basis of their legislative records, and so they apparently feel they cannot afford to admit an inconsistency -- pro-choice lobbying by a proclaimed pro-lifer, or Euro-trashy indulgence by the proclaimed avatar of the poor.

All presidents lie sooner or later. But Thompson and Edwards are not trimming for any noble purpose of state; each is just trying to protect a political persona that is somewhat concocted in the first place. Their rebuttals don't inspire either trust or strength and should give us all reason to worry. It's a long campaign, and there is time for both men to prove that they are of sterling character. In the meantime, though, they both hit the counter with the hollow sound of a counterfeit coin.

I appreciate that Cohen went after the hypocrisy of candidates from both parties. Shouldn’t Christians be willing to do the same? It seems we have a tendency to spot hypocrisy or, “all-image-no-content” problems of the other side sooner than we do in our own candidate.