Where is there dignity unless there is honesty?

--Cicero

So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge.

--Cicero

....the craftier and shrewder someone is, the more envied and mistrusted he becomes when his reputation for honesty has been lost.

--Cicero

I patiently held my tongue while Cicero was compared unfavorably to Kerry. (As a debater, Kerry was called "better than Cicero" by Bush strategist Matthew Dowd.)

But now that I see that accusations of cheating by Kerry have become mainstream news, I feel obligated to defend Cicero's honor, as ridiculous as that might seem.

I say "ridiculous" because Cicero is considered to be one of the most honest men in history (honest to a fault, really):

It may be doubted, indeed, whether any individual ever rose to power by more virtuous and truly honourable conduct; the integrity of his public life was only equalled by the correctness of his private morals; and it may at first sight excite our wonder that a course so splendidly begun should afterwards so little fulfil its early promise.

.....

His merits are of another kind and in a higher order of excellence. Antiquity may be challenged to produce a man more virtuous, more perfectly amiable than Cicero. None interest more in their life, none excite more painful emotions in their death. Others, it is true, may be found of loftier and more heroic character, who awe and subdue the mind by the grandeur of their views, or the intensity of their exertions. But {257} Cicero engages our affections by the integrity of his public conduct, the correctness of his private life, the generosity [Note 35], placability, and kindness of his heart, the playfulness of his wit, the warmth of his domestic attachments.

I must ask: precisely what is the purpose of debate? To win a contest or arrive at truth? What does it have to do with the presidency of the United States? If winning a debating contest is the goal, then it's all a game.

Might as well have Bush and Kerry each throw a javelin. We already know which man is taller; should we see who can run the fastest, jump the highest?

How might Cicero weigh in?

(I think he's not amused....)

UPDATE: This is highly un-Ciceronian!

Obviously, it's time to keep all eyes on the ball, and not lose perspective.....