Or is it a common politician's disease?
In 1717 the rebel Whigs were a serious threat in large part because Walpole was such a skillful House-of-Commons politician.
Two years ago, the cast of a new Broadway musical was given the sort of security briefing more common for politicians during a terrorist red alert.
This tendency to confuse the facts of climate change with the narratives constructed from them is just as common among politicians.
These days, it's much more common for politicians in TV interviews to look at the interviewer to the side of the camera, creating a nice profile.
Looking back at her own campaign, she voiced a sentiment common among politicians: "Many Canadians favored me," she said, "but my biggest problem was the press.
The practice has become increasingly common among politicians, but few, if any, have gone to the same lengths as Mr. Pataki.
Mr Blunkett shares a fear common among politicians these days that people have become disconnected from the institutions that are supposed to serve them, and, as a result, are vulnerable to right-wing populists bearing hard-line policies.
David Callahan, author of "The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead," said, "It's very common for politicians to issue talking points that are then deliberately repeated almost verbatim by tons of people.
