So here we are, smack dab in the middle of yet another presidential election season, and the fur's a-flyin' as usual, with candidates and would-be candidates slinging mud in the grand old fashion that made the U.S. what it is today. Lies, accusations of lies, and character attacks are the order of the day-- and with such soap-operatic elements in play, you'd think that we at AtAT would be a lot more interested in the race to the White House than we actually are. The truth of the matter, though, is that the catfights and snipefests between the presidential wannabes are purely bush league; the stuff of lightweights. For the very best in public half-truths, obfuscations, and outright lies, look no further than the world of Apple.

For example, just take this whole FreeMac controversy. You've been following the story up 'til now, right? Jonathan Strum of FreeMac announced his intention to "give away" a million iMacs starting last September, but the iMacs never materialized. Instead, Strum recently transformed FreeMac into a new venture called NadaPC, which will give away a million unspecified "Internet appliances" instead of iMacs. The reason? Strum claimed that Apple had reversed its earlier acceptance of his scheme, and was now refusing to let him buy a million iMacs to redistribute, even if he paid full retail price.

That, of course, ticked off the thousands upon thousands of people interested in getting a free iMac from Strum, and some of the more vocal parties expressed their disapproval by emailing Steve Jobs himself. That's when Jobs countered with his own claim that Strum's story was "bogus" and that "no one ever tried to stop [FreeMac]" from purchasing iMacs from "any Apple reseller." The plot thickens! In his typically straightforward way, Steve's calling Strum a liar.

But does Steve have the whole story? Despite his reputation as an incurable micromanager, there are certainly cases in which his assumption that he knows everything has led to embarrassing incidents-- remember last month's altercation at the Expo with those poor folks selling (completely licensed, totally legit) Apple logo watches? Keep that in mind as you read Strum's complete tale at MacNN; the man really seems to have his facts in order, and he's even got email from high-ranking Apple executives backing up his story. Either he's constructed an intensely elaborate series of lies for no readily apparent reason, or Steve's in the wrong. Which means that, in all likelihood, Steve's either flat-out lying, or has been talking about this issue without being in full possession of all the facts. Either way, we've said it before and we'll say it again: Steve Jobs for President in 2000, because he's obviously got what it takes for the job.