According to U.S President Barack Obama, the American people have “a hunger for explanation and complexity, and a willingness to acknowledge hard problems.” As Mr. Obama went on to say, “I think one of the biggest mistakes that is made in Washington is this notion you have to dumb things down for the public.” In Canada, by contrast, dumbing down seems to be the order of the day. Published in the Comment section of The Globe and Mail, Eddie Goldenberg discusses the need for politicians to talk straight about the trials ahead and how they will combat them, or suffer the consequences come the next election.