One of the latest campaign spots in which lies are put forth is a radio piece from the liberal Democratic U. S. Senator Robert Casey in which the claim is made that opponent Tom Smith would "end Medicare within two years" and "reduce Social Security benefits by 40 percent."

I have followed this race and others as closely as any layperson. Smith has neither said nor implied any such thing.

It is unfortunate that one can get away with telling falsehoods when involved in a political campaign when they could be sued for engaging in such behavior if the circumstances were different.

It is often difficult for me to vote for the major party candidates because I will not cast my ballot for a distortion/attack artist or a liar.

Apparently Senator Casey is taking a page out of the playbook of his late father.  In 1986, Governor Robert Casey was locked in a close race with opponent William Scranton. Casey used an infamous television spot to portray Scranton as a hippie drug user. Sadly, this tactic is credited with swinging the race to Casey, who eked out a win with a mere 79,000-vote margin. Casey Sr. never disavowed this slimy spot, but his running mate, Mark Singel, had the decency to acknowledge publicly that it was underhanded and wrong. Apparently the apple does not fall very far from the tree in the Casey family. A sitting United States Senator should be ashamed to stoop to lying about his opponent, seeking to play the voters for fools.

I suppose Casey Jr.'s desperation indicates that he fears losing his seat.