You know, I'm really disheartened at how many decent and civilized people are taking my fellow Nebraskan's comments, or at least some of them, at face value.
There's that old adage, "DUmmies lie; all the time, DUmmies lie."
But decent and civilized people have a need, a want, a desire, to trust, and so while they're not letting the big guy get away with blatant lies, they seem to be letting him get away with small details, believing what he says about those little things.
"I was told by many people....." "I was talking to....." "Several people said to me....."
I was struck incredulous when many here seemed to actually believe his tale about being surrounded by swarming, adoring crowds at the state high school girls' basketball tournament, who assured him he was the best thing since sliced bread or poppyseed rolls or whatever. Or about the business owner wanting to put one of the big guy's campaign signs in the window.
Yeah, right.
Now, some may find it reasonable that franksolich understands the big guy a little bit better than most, given that we're both native Nebraskans, about the same age (the big guy somewhat more senior, though), heavily influenced and molded by the same things (our "Nebraskan-ness"), and that we're sort of, well, "different" from most who surround us.
However, I must insist that franksolich knows the big guy really well.
There are differences between the big guy and franksolich--his expansive girth, his gift of gab, his hatred of all that is good and decent, his greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.
Other than that, though, we're like two peas in a pod.
Omaha Steve bluffs; he makes up things.
How does franksolich know?
Like recognizes like.
It's not the same thing as a dog looking at a cat; it's the same thing as a dog looking at another dog.
Bluffing, for franksolich, as explained in "living two lies" in the Sandhills forum here, is a life-preserving and -sustaining necessity, an imperative, as I'm a deaf person obligated to masquerade as a hearing person. In this society and culture, better to be erroneously thought of as a hearing person, albeit somewhat slow-witted, than as a deaf person.
franksolich is a champion bluffer, perhaps the best bluffer most ever meet--I'm lethal in card games, but as card games aren't my thing to do, I present little peril there; it should be no wonder, because I've had life-long experience at it, bluffing, honing it to an exquisite art.
However, unlike my fellow Nebraskan, I've never been comfortable bluffing, and while of course I shall have to answer to God for a multitude of grievous sins, I'm confident the sin of being false won't be one of them, because I've never bluffed to gain any pecuniary or other personal "advantage" over another person.
I've used bluffery only to convince others that I'm a hearing person, nothing more than that.
Omaha Steve, on the other hand, appears to be using bluffery to paint a falsely-positive image of himself and his campaign.....and he's especially good at it, because God gave him the gift of gab.
The big guy's a great guy to talk with, but if one expects any more than that, forget it; all he is is talk.
I strongly counsel decent and civilized people everywhere to take what Omaha Steve says with not a grain of salt, but a whole block of salt, much like those blocks left out for livestock.
