It is understandable that much is being made of Paul and Ann LePage, their two houses, that they claimed legal residency in two states, and that they gamed the system to save tens of thousands of dollars on their childrens' college tuition.
But what is being overlooked, in my opinion, is a character trait of Paul LePage that brings into question his qualifications to be governor.
Watch this clip from the press conference in Augusta last Monday, 13 September, and how LePage responds to a question from Maine Public Radio's AJ Higgins:
In his rage, LePage tells Higgins what he must know to be a lie, that his name was never on the deed of the house in Waterville; it seems that his first instinct to lie. That LePage had originally had his name on the deed was reported three days earlier by Rebekah Metzler here. From it:
Ann LePage is the sole owner of homes in Waterville and Ormond Beach, Fla., according to records in those states. She received Maine's homestead exemption on the house at 438 Main St. in Waterville in 1998, after buying the property with Paul LePage in 1995.
The property was transferred to Ann LePage alone in 1996. She then purchased the Florida property in 2008 and claimed the Florida homestead exemption on her 2009 property taxes.
Thousands of people read that article, and one assumes that LePage and Higgins did too. So not only did LePage know he was telling Higgins a lie, but he knew that thousands of other people also would know that he was lying.
This was not an instance of a candidate making a mistake, or of making shit up - this was a baldfaced lie.
Now I'm not a psychiatrist, but the gubernatorial campaign has provided a long list of examples of LePage's lies, so many in fact that I fear that he might be a pathological liar. This definition is from Wikipedia's entry on Pseudologia fantastica:
Pathological lying is falsification entirely disproportionate to any discernible end in view, may be extensive and very complicated, and may manifest over a period of years or even a lifetime.
It's not a stretch to realize that what is commonly known about LePage fits the above definition, and my guess is that there are many more tales from his time as mayor of Waterville, and from places he has worked (more so there, in fact).
Will these tales come to light? Will others now be emboldened to step forth and point to what they know? Time will tell, but I don't think this is the last we've heard on the subject of Paul LePage's character.