Robert Parry: The Source of Romney's Lying!!

If some recent polls are correct, a plurality of Americans are planning to vote for Mitt Romney, even though he may be the most persistent and professional liar to run for the US presidency in recent memory, which is saying something. But what has attracted very little media attention is the question: Why does Romney lie? There have been some suggestions that Romney's mendacity is an outgrowth of his business experience as a corporate takeover artist who tells investors and other stakeholders pretty much anything to close a deal. But that misses the reality of the business world, where a reputation as a chronic liar can be lethal to long term success. No, Romney's lying, most recently revealed in his false claim about General Motors and Chrysler shifting US auto jobs to China, appears connected to something deeper in his personality, psyche or life experience. One theory is that Romney is consumed by a blind ambition, obsessed with claiming the office of President that was denied his father, because he was too honest, while his Republican rival, Richard Nixon, was anything but. Another possibility is that Romney has surrendered whatever ethics he had to the longstanding Republican political strategy of winning at all cost, ironically a playbook inherited from Nixon. A third possible explanation is tied to Romney's Mormon religion which was founded in the 19th Century by a notorious conman, Joseph Smith Jr. who as a youth used a "seer stone" to advise people where to hunt for buried treasure. He later expanded on his supposed visions to start his own religion, Mormonism. Smith, aided by a few collaborators, created the Book of Mormon, which Smith claimed was delivered to him in 1827 by an angel Moroni via golden plates buried in upstate New York. Smith supposedly translated the plates, which told a truly unbelievable tale about ancient Israelites coming to the Americas.