An interesting observation from Georges Simenon in his novel, Maigret and the Dosser:
Maigret had known that from the start it would be a lengthy, difficult business, because Van Houtte was not intelligent. Invariably, it was stupid people that gave him the most trouble, because they stubbornly refused to answer, and have no hesitation about denying what they have asserted an hour before, without worrying when their contradictions are pointed out.
Often, with an intelligent suspect, one merely has to disclose a flaw in his line of argument, in his system, and before long everything collapses.
This strikes me as being so true. The subject behind Maigret’s (Simenon’s) observation was a criminal investigation, but doesn’t the same observation apply equally to the modern Republican Party in the United States, especially as has been taken over by the likes of Karl Rove and the ultra-right epitomized by the Tea Party.
A Celebration of Reading 