I think it's basically true that all candidates tell lies, and frankly, the fault isn't theirs, it's ours. The American people are inconsistent, but they expect their leaders to be consistent; which means that politicians have to change their views but always claim they haven't. For example, while I think it's simplistic to say that Kerry was for the War before he was against it, that's a pretty accurate description of American voters. At various times, a majority have said that the War was a mistake, but when you ask if they're more or less likely to vote for a candidate because he supported the war, many more people say they're more likely to vote for that candidate. So there you have it: most Americans think the War was a mistake and most Americans want a President who supported the War.
None of this would be a problem if Americans accepted that their leaders could change their minds, but that's also seen as a weakness. So -- somewhat bizarrely -- politicians are forced to claim that they've been saying the same thing all along, even though it's the voters themselves who''ve flip-flopped. Here's an example: during the first debate, Kerry said that the Iraq War was a mistake. Later, when asked whether troops were dying for a mistake, he said that they weren't. That's a contradiction. But the source of the contradiction is in ourselves. Polling shows that many Americans have come to believe that the Iraq War was a mistake that has made us less safe, but to honor our sons, daughter, mothers and fathers who've died for our country, we cannot bear saying their deaths were in vain.
Personally, I think Cheney's lie was pretty egregious. He implied that he's presided over the Senate every Tuesday since he took office; in fact, he's done it twice. I'm genuinely surprised that not one Bush supporter has acknowledged that Cheney was at least misleading on this point. It's one thing to support a candidate, it's another to pretend that your candidate has no flaws. Look above and you'll see I said Kerry contradicted himself. Why can't you acknowledge the flaws in your own candidates?
The reason that people who oppose Bush bring up Cheney's lies is that we think Bush supporters pretend -- or maybe even believe -- that their own candidates are more virtuous. It says something that the main attack of the Kerry campaign has been that Bush made serious mistakes in Iraq, while the main attack of the Bush campaign has been that Kerry flip-flops. The Kerry campaign's attack is a criticism of policy, while the Bush campaign's is a character attack. You see that, right? And that's precisely why people who oppose Bush have highlighted Cheney's lies. I agree, all politicians lie, so why is the Bush campaign trying to win based on the claim that Bush and Cheney don't?