Did you tune in this morning? It really didn’t matter which channel. The Iowa caucus post-mortem was everywhere. And so were the candidates. Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee had obvious reason to celebrate. But I was most struck by how many of the runners-up claimed not to have lost.
It got to the point that on Today, Matt Lauer asked Mitt Romney (who finished second after having led and spending a gazillion dollars) something to the effect of: You’re smiling. You’re saying all the right things. But you have to be disappointed…
Translation: Please don’t give me a bunch of spin. Be honest about what you’re feeling this morning.
It was a valiant attempt to deliver something genuine, but it was only somewhat successful as Romney continued to grin and get back to his message that everything is still basically hunky dory.
Then came Priscilla Ceballos. She’s the North Texas mother who helped her 6 year-old daughter write a false essay about how her father died in Iraq. That exercise in creative writing won the girl a trip to a Hannah Montana concert.
Ceballos sat next to an attorney and a psychiatrist and read an apology on live television. It had the distinct whiff of being lawyer-approved. It seems reasonable to wonder if Ceballos received the same kind of writing coaching that she provided her daughter.
Matt Lauer followed up by asking Ceballos what she told her daughter when the prize was taken away. Ceballos responded by saying that she had refused to accept the tickets.
What???
That’s when I screamed at my television. All I wanted from someone — Ceballos or some political candidate — was a bit of soul-baring honesty. Just about anything would have done.
Maybe something like:
“It was such a stupid thing to do…”
“Of course I was hoping to win…”
“I’ve learned a big lesson…”
I have this theory. People like other people who are honest about themselves — their feelings and their faults. People are more likely to forgive you, instead of judge you. And if you’re running for something, they’re more likely to vote for you.
As journalists, we ask the questions. It’s up to people like Priscilla Ceballos and political candidates how they want to answer — how much of themselves they really want to reveal. We can prod and push, but ultimately we can’t force revelations.
This morning was full of missed opportunities. Chances to change opinions and perceptions. But for that to happen I need something in exchange: the truth. All of it.
