A politician was on an election swing in outback Mississippi, where they had a hotly debated squirrel law. Half of his partisans were against the law and half were for it. So when the politico finished his campaign speech, he asked, “Now does anyone have any questions?” “Yeah,” spoke up one gent. “How do you stand on the squirrel law?” “Glad you asked that question,” he answered. “I understand that half of my friends are for it and half are against it. I want it clearly understood that I’m for my friends.”
Politicians thrive on diplomacy, which according to Will Durant is, “the art of saying nothing, especially when speaking,” or better still, according to another, it is “the art of nearly deceiving all your friends, but not quite deceiving all your enemies.” Simply put it is the art of deceiving without offending, which is the lifeblood of politicians.