There are many lost words today in political races but the ones I miss the most are honor, character, integrity, truth and fairness.   

None of our lives spans the whole history of American politics but it is safe to say that these words are missing from many of the 2010 campaigns and have been missing for some time. 

Nixon played dirty tricks on his adversaries in 1972 beginning with Ed Muskie and ending with George McGovern but the scale of the tricks has recently exceeded those of that Presidents Friends or perhaps they have simply been magnified by our communications abilities we have today and politicians simply haven't caught up.

How else could anyone explain the lack of integrity on display in Orlando, FL as a result of a campaign ad belonging to Alan Grayson?    In a shameful intent to destroy his opponent, Daniel Webster, he chose to pull apart the text of a speech Webster once gave, chop out words and leave an impression that was a lie.    What kind of a person would do such a thing?  Apparently a person like Alan Grayson.  Politicians have truly replaced used car salesmen and attorneys as the least trustworthy occupation?

Then of course there is the gubernatorial race in California. In this story we have a mix of an apparent dishonorable act by an attorney with political motivation.  Meg Whitman employed a maid that she apparently took advantage of for years by paying her $23 per hour and allowing her time off as it was required for her family.  In 2003 the Whitman's received a letter from the Social Security Administration that simply stated there to be a question regarding her reported Social Security Number.   The maid had been hired through a reputable employment agency that was responsible for vetting her prior to presenting her to the Whitmans.   The letter explained that it would be illegal for the Whitmans to use that letter in any manner that would be to the detriment to the employee.  It was evidence of nothing except that a question existed and it asked for information.   Mr. Whitman apparently put a note on the document and gave it to the maid asking her to deal with this.  Six years later in 2009 this same maid came to the Whitmans after she announced her candidacy for governor and admitted that she was in the country illegally.  The Whitmans did the only thing they could have done, they discharged her.  Now, a little more than one month prior to the November election this same maid is found on television with Gloria Allred citing this letter as evidence that Meg Whitman was aware of the fact that her maid was in the country illegally back in 2003 but fired her in 2009 because she wanted to run for governor.  This story is a travesty for all involved.  

First, the hope of the Gerry Brown camp is that people will see the Hispanic maid on television and develop sympathy for her and feel negatively toward Mrs. Whitman. 

Second, it appears that Gloria Allred is seeking publicity for herself.  She is also a friend of the Brown campaign. 

Third, Gloria Allred, the very woman who claims to represent the maid recognizing that she has two children who were born in this country has "outed" her client and admitted to the world that the maid committed illegal acts that extend beyond simply being in this country illegally.   She has admitted the maid committed perjury in the original documents she submitted when first seeking employment. 

Then of course, Meg Whitman does stand to lose support, particularly from those who blindly accept the story as presented by Allred and do no investigation of their own or keep up with the emerging story. 

Timing is important when candidates sling mud in races like this and they must weigh the damage that can be done in contrast to the legitimacy of the criticism.  Given that this criticism is not legitimate Allred and Brown might have better released this information in the last week of the campaign.  In this way it would be impossible for the voters to discover the length the Brown campaign would go to secure a victory before the election.  

So a message to all those candidates willing to dishonestly attribute some malevolent attribute to your opponent, let your voters find out after the election that you are a bald faced lying sack of excrement.   In this way the voters may forget before you come up for re-election.