This being the 100th blog of the year (some congratulations surely being in order) I will revert to type and address the man of the moment, Donald Trump. I do not mean this in any laudatory manner, for the oafish Don is not a person whom I respect. But Trump brought to mind one other great liar of the past, Joseph Goebbels. I do not mean to conflate the American with Nazism or with any Nazi type, because I think that regime is in a category of its own. But Goebbels and Trump understand at least one tactic with which crowds might be swayed - the big lie. "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." the venomous Nazi once said, before proceeeding to do just that, over and over again.

Trump tells a lot of lies but few bigger than his assertion last week that Clinton had invented the (President Obama) Birther Issue back in 2008 and that he, Trump, had finished it. As brazen as lies get, this is quite near top of the charts. As the words came out of his mouth, mine was hanging open in disbelief. I have followed this story for years now, with Trump leading the charge, demanding birth certificates, casting doubt on their authenticity, reveling in his role as the champion of the cause. As coded racism it does not get much murkier and unethical.

But the big lie can work and it has worked for Trump and others in the past. Whether he pays a price remains to be seen, but he has proved thus far to be the orange-flecked teflon man.

Once upon a time though, this one was the real deal.....