In the elecction, who is telling the truth?

One question a lot of people write to me about privately is who do I trust in these elections?  It seems everyone is lying. 

While I have made it clear that I will not discuss politics or religion, simply because it is an emotional issue (where emotions trump logic more often than not), there are simple things that people can do to get to the truth during an election.

1.  Read and Become Educated.   One reason politicians get away with their lies is that few people really take the time to understand what is actually going on with our country and our government.   Few people understand why our country hit the financial crisis that we did.  If people understood how it all started, they would be much more clear in how we got to where we did and what we need to do to get out of it.

2.  Utilize Fact-checking Websites.  Many websites provide fact-checking on speeches made by candidates and while they won't be completely unbiased, its a good place to start getting information.  Read several sites and if you follow along, over time patterns will clearly emerge.

3.  Take commentators with a grain of salt -- unless they show you the candidate making full and complete statements and THEN FACT CHECK their opinions.  I personally like television shows that display politicians talking out of both sides of their mouth!  People talking for themselves tell me the most -- but make sure they show you the candidate saying a complete thoughts and not cut-off segments.

Don't assume everyone who is a politician is lying.  They are not.  Look for sincerity, compassion and human decency.  Judge a man by his character, too. If a candidate shows disregard for people or a lack of respect, he will run the country the same way. It all adds up.

I hope this helps!  Please do not take about candidates in the comment section. This blog is not about politics.  Thank you.