That Livni upholds this anti-democratic and wholly corrupt electoral farce as a legitimate path to the premiership puts paid the notion that she is an honestpolitician dedicated to cleaning up politics and making politicians accountable to voters.
Republicans were cruelly unfair to Bill Clinton, whom they assailed as dishonest, when in fact he was fully honest to his trade as a Democratic politician.
Critics of the government say that recent scandals point to a pervasive culture of corruption in Mr Singh's administration - adding to the difficulties of a politician once seen as India's most honest.