During this campaign season, Democrats have been saying that if you only open your eyes and look, you’ll see that the Democrats’ policies have worked. It’s an invitation to argue the statistics.

This line of argument will not win votes for the Democrats on November 4. When you distrust the president, you do not care whether his policies work or not. When the president lies to you, when he double-crosses you, when he shovels out propaganda by the truckload, dissembles, distorts, and denigrates people, when his actions and his words almost never correspond with each other, why would you align yourself with a party that has chosen a leader like that?

The health care lie – if you like your insurance policy, you can keep it – follows the president around like a little dog that urinates on every one of his visitors. Even with a lie this blatant, the president’s people tried to show how it wasn’t a lie after all. They interpreted the law correctly, while all the people who lost their insurance policies were mistaken.

The IRS lie runs a little deeper. Lois Lerner and company is a case where tax collectors became political. We have seen a lot of abuses of power in our history, but abuse by tax collectors makes us know what Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty were about when they organized resistance to the Brits. President Obama claimed that the IRS abuses came from a few rogue administrators at the Cincinnati office. That was after he went back and forth across the country, for eighteen months before the 2012 election, arguing that his tax collectors should take a closer look at Tea Party groups and others who oppose the president’s program. When the IRS was caught doing exactly what the president said they should do, the president did what he does so well: blame others. Don’t ever take responsibility. Try to get out of it.

It is weak leadership, not worthy of anyone’s trust. That is why Democrats cannot argue the statistics. They have a leader that almost no one – not even Democrats – can stand anymore. They can’t stand him because you can’t rely on him. Politics is known as a business where you have to be careful about what you say. People accept that politicians won’t be candid with you all the time. You measure the truth out carefully when you have interests to protect, and you take some care with your stage lighting. We are ready to give some presidents some latitude in this area, for we know discretion is part of the job.

We have seen dishonesty in the last two presidents, however, that has dammed a reservoir of resentment. No one wants to be the victim of lies and fraud. Remember how you felt the last time you were scammed by some dirtbag who took advantage of you? Remember how you felt when you relied on someone, and the person you trusted turned out to be a liar who didn’t even care about what he had done? That’s how voters feel about the president. They are fed up.

People might disagree about the president’s health care plan. They agree, however, that you don’t sell something with claims you know are dishonest, then try to weasel out of your lies when victims of your dishonesty find out you have scammed them. No leader who cares about anyone but himself would behave this way. No leader who wants to make a positive difference would carelessly destroy his reputation for truthfulness and integrity. People remember dishonesty longer than they remember statistics. At present, don’t try to argue statistics with Democrats. It’s not worth it, and it completely misses the point.