Mark Twain said there were three kinds of lies “. . . lies, damned lies and statistics.” Twain was wrong. There are four kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, statistics and political debate answers.

I believe we all lie, we just lie differently based on our personalities. I’ve blogged about it here. Luckily for me and maybe you, we don’t have to lie in front of a national audience in desperate competition for a public office.

Mutable Sign Prevarication

Last Thursday’s Republican Primary Debate had Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney attacking each other like two grumpy old men. Using Romney’s word against Gingrich, it was repulsive.

Gingrich (Gemini) and Romney (Pisces) are both mutable signs. Mutable is one of the three modes and indicates mutability, changeable and flexibility. The cardinal signs are about initiating and the fixed signs are about stabilizing.

On Thursday, Gingrich and Romney were mutable sign prevaricators extraordinaire. And each prevaricated in the way of his sign. Mutable signs have a tendency to avoid.

Gemini Prevarication:

When asked to defend a TV-show attack on Romney, Gingrich gave his standard debate answer – that was a TV show, this is a debate.

This man who worked for Freddie Mac attacks someone for investing in Freddie Mac.

Gemini prevaricates through twisted and tangled words. Gingrich’s answers could be classified as poetry in their inscrutability.

When asked about the discrepancy between attacking Romney’s wealth and the fact his tax plan would allow Romney additional wealth (by a 0% capital gains tax rate), Gingrich had no answer at all. Gingrich fights with words and no words could explain away this contradiction.

Gingrich “hears no evil.”

Pisces Prevarication:

When asked about a TV ad attacking Gingrich, Romney claimed he hadn’t seen it. Every time Romney is asked about a TV ad, he claims to have not seen it.

If you were running a company and the man selling the product said he hadn’t seen the ads, wouldn’t you fire him?

Pisces prevaricates through denial and simple evasion.

Unfortunately for Romney, the ad in question had the “I’m Romney and I support this message” blurb at the end.

How does Romney get away with saying he doesn’t watch TV ads while he’s running for Republican Presidential Candidate with the biggest purse of all the contenders?

As for questions regarding Romney’s investments, Romney tells us that they are in a “blind” trust and he doesn’t know much about them. Romney, once again, can’t see. A man who managed a private equity firm just simply isn’t looking at his own investments.

Romney “sees no evil.”

Which Prevarication is Better?

The Republicans are deciding if they want “hear no evil” or “see no evil” for their candidate. Both Gingrich and Romney have proved that while they hear no evil and see no evil, they definitely can “speak evil.”

Both candidates are demonstrating how they deal with issues – by avoidance.

Ohio Astrology recommends avoiding both candidates and picking a fixed sign candidate – Rick Santorum (Taurus) or Ron Paul (Leo). If you want the candidate that says the same thing at dinner that he said at breakfast, you’d be better off with one of these two guys.