There is a difference between a lie and a mistake and also between hypocrisy and just playing the cards you are dealt. These conceptual differences arise regularly in political debate, and now in in the health care debate. Let’s start with hypocrisy.

This question appears periodically in many forms. If you favor strict gun controls, should you be packing heat? The answer is that if a certain policy is set in law, it is appropriate to act in accord with the current policy, while at the same time advocating a change in policy.