Can you help me with examples of hypocrisy in politics in the US?

Do you mean like “Mexico will pay for the Wall?”

[Cynic says]. Sure. Look here, here, and especially here. [/cynic]

[Better self says] Why go hunting for hypocrites? I think everyone has some gaps between their ideal and their real selves. That’s the same gap we find in everything in this imperfect world (the only kind of world that would have us or where we could belong). Why not just honestly try to be charitable and give people credit when they do the best they can, and even when they try hard but mess up? [/better self]

[Realistic self says] Those are two very big topics, hypocrisy and propaganda. I happen to think that a discussion on propaganda would be plenty to talk about all by itself.

If you can find material on media literacy, fact vs. opinion, and recognizing deliberate distortion in presentation—maybe even just in treatment of images in the media—you would have a big subject right there and might even open some eyes. Graphic effects such as selection, cropping, use of color, placement on the page, juxtaposition, choice of font, and all sorts of other things influence perceptions, often so subtly that most people will never realize it. Look for one of those displays that show the same photo treated in ways that make the subject appear as everything from a benign powerful authority to a prophet from heaven to hell incarnate. What does it do just to print a photo with different color treatment—of a suspected criminal, say, or of food?

[Trying not to /realistic self]

@Jeruba I agree we all have gaps and are all imperfect when it comes to hypocrisy. I also agree with being charitable. I try to do just that when I see incredible hypocrisy among some of my family members, because I want to have leeway given to me when I am less than perfect myself, and also I don’t think they have bad intentions (usually). But, regarding politics and tactics used currently by politicians, and what I see in mainstream and social media I am less charitable I guess.

There is someone else who does a lecture specifically on propaganda, so I was going to mostly steer clear of it, although, I had a feeling it would be brought up so I wanted to be up on it, more than lecture about it and show examples specifically on that topic. The hypocrisy is more interesting to me personally, and I think most people are unaware of when they are being hypocritical. I see a lot of amnesia and little self awareness.

@canidmajor I don’t think so. What did a Democratic leader do that is similar? Why is the wall hypocritical? Maybe I am missing the point.

@JLeslie you are missing the point. He promised a number of times that Mexico will pay for the Wall. If he meant it, he’s delusional, which is a bad trait in a president. If he didn’t, the hypocrisy is in making such a promise, repeatedly, in the first place.

But since you had to ask, I guess that’s not what you meant.
Never mind.

@canidmajor I’m looking for examples like my examples. My examples are not about the hypocritical things the politician does, but rather how the citizenry is hypocritical in how they view the actions of politicians. Trump was a straight out liar. He knows what to say to work his crowd.

I think some of the examples you used are not the same thing. When Clinton fooled around in office, for example, it was news-fodder and really, outside of some political posturing, no one cared. When he lied about it under oath and then used the power of the office of the POTUS to try blocking the investigation, he was impeached…as he should have been. It isn’t the same as Trump. His indiscretions were apparently long before he became president and he has never been asked under oath if they happened. No one cares about the indiscretion, but they do about the crimes.
Ditto that for the attack on Benghazi and the attack on Yemen. Both were attacks by terrorists. But the difference is the response from the WH. In Yemen, Bush dealt with it as an attack. He had adequate security in place and no Americans were killed. In Benghazi, the response before the attack by the State Dept (Hillary) was to deny any extra security despite repeated urgent requests for it from the ambassador. When the attack happened, Obama, Clinton, Rice, et al came out and said it was an impromptu riot caused by some obscure YouTube video. Common sense says that impromptu riots do not include rocket launchers, mortars, and automatic weapons. But even after all the US intelligence agencies came out and said it was ISIS, those same people still tried pushing the impromptu riot story. And there was never any true investigation into why requests for extra security were ignored.
One you missed that does point to hypocrisy involves Trump and Bill Clinton and Jeffry Epstein. Trump took a ride on Epstein’s plane and the Dems went crazy trying to push the idea he was a pedophile. Yet Bill Clinton took many rides on that same plane AND went MANY times to Epstein’s private island…yet the Dems are silent on that. The media didn’t even want to think about reporting that.
Another that involves Bill Clinton. Many celebrities and politicians have been hit with the #MeToo movement. Harvey Weinstein has had his career ruined because of it for example. Hillary Clinton has spoken publicly in support of the #MeToo. Yet there are still several women accusing him of sexual misconduct including rape. Yet despite all the publicity surrounding the #MeToo accusations, no one wants to acknowledge these particular accusations. Gloria Steinem and Joy Behar have both attacked the accusers. Meanwhile Kavanaugh was accused, with zero proof, and the Dems/leftists wanted to hold him accountable.
How about Michael Flynn being threatened with Contempt of Congress with a subsequent imprisonment unless he testified? Meanwhile Both Lois Lerner AND Eric Holder were found to be in Contempt of Conress and absolutely nothing happened to either of them and there was never an outcry for any justice. In fact both were protected by the DoJ which was supposed to prosecute them.

I don’t care about Bill Clinton’s affairs. That’s between him and his spouse. I don’t care that he got a blowjob from an intern. I do care that he lied under oath about it. Granted, it’s not a question that should have been asked in the first place. But asked it was, and he chose to lie about it. For that he was rightfully impeached. I would have respected him more if he was upfront about it.

I do care that the moral crusade against him was led by Newt Gingrich, who was carrying on his own affair at the time, and by Dennis Hastert, who was paying millions in hush money to former students he molested during his days as a teacher at Yorkville High.

Nor do I care about Donald Trump’s affairs. Again, that’s between him and his spouse.

I don’t care that Prince Harry once dumbly wore a Nazi costume to a Halloween party or that he married a half-black girl. He’s not my prince, so what he does is of no concern to me.

I don’t care that the governor of Virginia took a photo in blackface 30 years ago. He’s not my governor, so it’s not my concern. Let the people of Virginia decide if they want him out of office. As an Illinoisian my opinion is irrelevant there.

@Darth_Algar I like your consistency. It seems to me you are in the minority of Americans though. Most point out why the situations were different to justify giving a pass to one politician vs another. That it was a different time, different attitudes, or whatever else.