Grand Political Fictions

My favorite book by Nabokov is Pale Fire, the fictitious critique of a fictitious poem presented with stunning fictitious plot detail and a fictitious murder to boot. The book was even published with a fictitious author, Charles Kinbote, the fictitious exiled King of the fictitious Zembla who fictitiously writes himself into the fictitious poem that he fictitiously critiques. But fiction has no greater proponent than prominent Democratic Senators.

Case #1: My name is Hillary
You may recall the incident surrounding the former First Lady who claimed to a New Zealand newspaper that she was named after the famed NZ explorer, Sir Edmund Hillary. One problem: Sir. Hillary didn't climb Mt. Everest until 1953, when Senator Hillary was 7 sears old. Bill Clinton even repeats this fallacy in his recent biography.

Case #2: My memory is sooo good
Senator Robert Torricelli famously remarked that he recalls the animus produced at the 1951 hearings against Italian mob bosses. This was among his the first memories I have of the government of the United States probably the first hearing of the United States Senate I have ever witnessed. Of course he was 5 days old at the time

Case #3 John Kerry and Vietnam
So, he which story is right? Were the purple hearts earned through flying rice? Was he really in Cambodia? Did he or did he not commit atrocities? Did he shoot that boy in the back?

This is just the latest in a long line of fictitious lives that many politicians lead.