The Errant Æsthete

In his book Les Fourberies des Charlaltans, Etienne Ducret summarizes: ‘Le domaine du charlatanisme est infini, et sa clientele innombrable; elle abonde partout ou sont en majorite les credules et les sots; et ou cela n’est-il pas?’ (’The world of charlatanism is infinite and its client base innumerable; it flourishes especially where there is a majority of credulous fools. And where isn’t there?’)

In the twenty-first century, the art of deception, illusion, or creatively crafted spin is no longer the domain of make- believe, narrative, or advertising. Today’s purveyors of fantasy and imagination come from all walks of life, inhabiting the highest corridors of power, holding court with kings and presidents, dictators and prime ministers, orchestrating policy, change and its earth shattering consequences, shifting whole economies and social stratas simply because of their proximity to power and those who wield it.

Like his historical counterparts, CardinalRichelieu, the King’s ‘Chief Minister’ or L. Frank Baum’s wee little czar, the Wizard of Oz, our famed and highly decorated poseur, heralded as everything from Bush’s “brain,” to the cleverest, savviest political strategist and uber stage manager of modern times has, to the profound relief of many, left the building.

As one commentator noted, “Karl Rove left official DC political life as he virtually spent his entire career, with an audacious lie that dared one to call it starkly in its blatant magnitude: he was leaving for family reasons. Rove of course wasn’t leaving for family reasons, but one clearly noticed no one in journalism called him a plain simple liar for it.”

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