They say a picture paints a thousand words. There's a reason that phrase has been used in song and prose, spanning the years and provoking our imagination. We believe those six words to be true because they speak to the very core of who we are, what we innately desire communication to be. A pure, unadulterated description without motive or hidden agenda -- we see in a picture an innocence lost in words. Yet we rarely consider that pictures can lie.

Perhaps it would be more succinct to say that pictures can manipulate, by virtue of the fact that they can be easily manipulated. No, I'm not referring to Photoshop or the like, although it would be the easiest example. What I am suggesting is a far more insidious method of alteration, one that carries the heft of a new word: Optics. Ah, therein lies the rub.

In political lexicon, optics are fiercely important. Pictures have always mattered in a kinder, gentler sense, but optics target key receptors by honing in on an unsuspecting demographic. A picture can tell us whatever we choose to hear, while an optic demands that we listen to the story. Democrats and Republicans alike have always been masters of the spin game, anyone surprised by that has not been paying attention. However, in recent years the game has devoted more and more time to show-and-tell. A new bonus round,, if you will, where the stakes are high but the payoff is huge. We're the audience ... the player with the best optics wins. And winner takes all.

Consider the ado surrounding the lack of optics being presented by the Obama administration. The world is going to hell in a handbasket and he's too busy fundraising, campaigning and speechifying about domestic issues to give a damn. If he cared at all, there'd be optics to prove it. He'd be at our southernmost border, looking somber and engaged, spending his Sundays on talk shows discussing the Middle East conflict, calling Putin a thug in the Rose Garden and having tea with Republicans on Capitol Hill. And there'd be optics! Drinking beer and shooting pool in Denver? Round of applause for the red team, please. Feel free to boo our president as he works backstage, out of the limelight to actually do something. The cameras aren't watching, there's no film at eleven. All we see is a man dutifully raising money for, and promoting, his party. All we hear is him, at podiums across the country, explaining to the American people where he stands and in what he believes. He has shown enough knowledge of current events to convince us that he's still actively engaged in the game, but he just can't win without optics.

Is that true? Are politicians on both sides of the aisle and talking heads on competing networks right? Somewhat sadly, they very well may be. In this age of lightning speed information that is anything but consistent, it's difficult to digest circumstances on a good day. During troubling times, such as these today, it can seem utterly overwhelming. Perhaps we need that picture to translate the words, to paint over the noise, to tell us the truth. Maybe the optics really do matter. Even if we know we're being handled, even if we.know it's all fluff. Illusions, like a desert mirage, may have no substance or basis in reality, but they do keep us interested.

There's a glitch in that argument, though. If the optics of any given subject are allowed to supersede the subject itself, then all frame of reference is lost. It isn't enough to watch the movie instead of reading the book. Manipulation of facts is nothing new, and it's certainly not limited to politics, but encouraging it is not a good idea. The best optics are the ones that add flavor to a bland dish, garnish the plate and cleanse our palate. But they can not, under any circumstances, change water into champagne or prime rib into chicken. Had President Obama accompanied Governor Perry to the Texas border, we'd have had a veritable feast of optics. Perry would have catapulted to Republican stardom and Obama would have gotten his picture taken. And later, while the public fed on the optics and the media gurus were sated, the kids would still be waiting for something real. Hey, it's the optics, man! He coulda been a contenda!

So while we applaud the game, let's hope the real players are behind the green screen, ignoring the fantasy and doing all they can to find answers. If they keep trying, who knows ... maybe one day we'll all win.