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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: wonk who wrote (172050)	10/6/2005 4:00:00 AM
From: cnyndwllr	Respond to of 281500

"Its cynical I know, but its most likely that a smart crook will beat an honest man. All other things being equal, the best the honest man can hope for is a draw." That might be too general. It might depend on the endeavor. For instance: Politics...OK, you're right and few would argue. Preacher...OK, you're probably right there too. Lawyer... Banker... Insurance adjuster... accountant.... Damn, there must be something!!! Actually I've beaten some pretty dishonest lawyers. You have to catch them in their tricks, however, and make them eat them publicly. Sometimes being dishonest has a poor cost/benefit projection. If you make the assumption, as I'm sure you do, however, that the crook will be smart enough to know when to cheat and won't get caught then, by definition, he'll be more successful. As you point out, he'll have all the tools you have and then he'll have those additional tools you'll never use because of the restraints of honesty. But he'll still have to look in the mirror everyday, even if the mirror is in a big white house. Ed PS, Are these the kind of things people talk about at mensa meetings? Is there a cure?