VDH: Mum's The Word

Link:

The Wizards of Oz

I don't think in my lifetime I have ever witnessed quite a campaign in which the wife of the Presidential candidate has been sequestered lest she voice yet another sweeping generalization that can be rightfully interpreted as denigrating both the American system at large or the values of other Americans; or in which the Vice Presidential candidate has been sequestered from press questioning lest he once again in an interview or an impromptu says something that either is so bizarre that it makes no sense at all or serves as a good argument not to vote for his running mate; or in which the Presidential nominee himself knows that if he stays on the teleprompter he has a good chance of winning, but if he wades in to banter wtih the crowd there is equally a good chance that he may say something so disturbing that the entire facade that he has so carefully constructed simply collapses.

In sum, the voters suspect that there is something wrong with these faux-wizardly images on the campaign stump, but on the rare occasions they hear or see a gimpse of something real behind them that understandably makes them uneasy, they are sort of given the message "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."