On Campaign Promises

Politicians, whatever they are inept at, are, for the most part, masters of grammar. Only a politician would construct a sentence which avoids telling a lie only because it it isn't a statement, and that, only because it doesn't obey the rules of grammar.

I have in mind "If you elect me, I promise to do X...." Now the antecedent of this statement, "if you elect me" refers, in the present tense, to the particular election at hand. The consequent, "I promise" is a clause in the present tense. But the consequent can be in the present tense only if the the antecedent is general, such, as "If (in general) I receive campaign donations, I (in general) spend them on irrelevant commercials." But the antecedent is particular, so this promise of his means nothing at all.

And setting grammar aside, because it's likely he isn't actually as careful as I make him out to be, he hasn't, in fact, promised anything at all. He has told us that if he is elected, he will promise to do something. And indeed would it not be a wonderful government, were our elected officials to spend all their days making promises. No, if he honestly wants to lie to us about what he'll do in power, he has to say, "I promise that if you elect me, I will do X...."