TA picks up on Seals' inflated credentials

Team America has picked up on the fact that Dan Seals inflated his resume and now, The Daily Herald has investigated into the story.

In the 10th Congressional District's Democratic primary campaign, candidate Dan Seals of Wilmette has touted his position as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University.

But he doesn't start that job until April.[...]

Political experts say candidates should consider what they say in public or claim in advertising to be part of an application they are submitting to their future employers -- the voters. That means they should be factual and accurate.

Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois' Springfield campus, said flagrant misstatements or resume-puffing can be costly to candidates at the ballot box. He said voters are more likely to look in that direction than toward candidates' positions on the issues.

"They understand about people telling the truth," Redfield said of voters. "If it turns out you fudged on some things, that becomes the issue."

Another problem with "stretching," Redfield said, is it can prompt opponents to look for other shaky claims and, if found, pounce on them for political gain.

Redfield and John Jackson, a political scientist and visiting professor at Southern Illinois University's Paul Simon Institute, evaluated the candidates' rhetoric and weighed in on how it could affect voters, who head to the polls Tuesday.[...]

But Seals doesn't begin his position as a part-time School of Continuing Studies lecturer until April, a Northwestern spokesman said. Shrugging it off as a miscue, Seals has started calling himself a lecturer in public forums, though as of Tuesday afternoon, his Web site still listed him as an adjunct professor.

"What it might show is I don't know what the proper terms are," said Seals, 36. "The idea that I'm trying to mislead or be deceitful is baseless."

Jackson said the difference between a lecturer and visiting professor isn't great, but Seals should have known better considering this is his second run for Congress. He added Seals should have been clearer about when his employment began at Northwestern.

I must add that we've seen what inflating your resume can do in the business of sports coaching. It should have the same effect in politics.