So call me a Republican

One of the downsides to being a teacher is that when you make a statement you need to be able to back it up with facts or research or proven hypotheses. In a way, I preferred it in the advertising business when you could make a statement forcefully based on what you believe to be true, even if you just made it up. It was always understood that this is what people do and that it's more important to sound sure of yourself than to be correct.