It's always been hard to tell what's real. Reading back over Vietnam and Watergate, or even recent news that Congress has settled members' staff harrassment accusations with taxpayer money, from today's perspective, suggests that.

I'm as uninformed about the inside as most people. The way I manage my head, and my navigation, is to assume that the bottom 80% (made-up working number) of political activity and speech is dirty, and discount the wild-eyed top 20% of partisan activity and speech.

As I said, it's uninformed, but it's safe, and much is borne out over the decades, once the tell-alls and declassified documents come out.