"All political power is primarily an illusion... Mirrors and blue smoke, beautiful blue smoke rolling over the surface of highly polished mirrors..."

For Marsh's latest assignment in Art Class, he decided to do a little photography. When he puts his mind to it, he is almost as good a photographer as either you or Daron. Marsh has named his masterpiece 'Smoke and Mirrors' and is entering it into an art competition.


As the art competition has a 'political backer', I don't guess Marsh planned on winning. He calls it his 'political statement', if you will. This is why he said he named it what he did:

Smoke and Mirrors~ meaning 'trickery or deception', often in a political context.

This expression alludes to the performances of stage conjurers who use actual smoke and mirrors to deceive the audience. The figurative use that is now more common refers to the obscuring or embellishing of the truth that is employed by spin doctors and the like in order to deceive the general public. This later usage comes from the writings of the American journalist Jimmy Breslin. In his Notes from Impeachment Summer, 1975, Breslin twice refers to smoke and mirrors being used in the US political scene:

"All political power is primarily an illusion... Mirrors and blue smoke, beautiful blue smoke rolling over the surface of highly polished mirrors... If somebody tells you how to look, there can be seen in the smoke great, magnificent shapes, castles and kingdoms, and maybe they can be yours."

Marsh doesn't mean any particular politician only politicians in general.

Some days, I don't know about that boy.

Personally, I prefer this photo....

...or maybe this one....