One of the most obvious signs of systemic cheating is that many Chinese officials use fake or dubiously acquired academic credentials to burnish their resumes. Because educational attainment is considered a measure of merit, officials scramble to obtain advanced degrees in order to gain an advantage in the competition for power.

For example, Hu has decided to honor the memory of his mentor, former General Secretary Hu Yaobang, in order to burnish his aura as a reformist. But, in many ways, Hu Jintao s tenure as the head of the fourth generation of Communist leaders, which began when he became party secretary in 2002, differs sharply from that of his mentor.

Iraq s government is demanding a withdrawal timetable from the US, not because it believes that Iraqi forces will be ready to take over soon, but to burnish its nationalist credentials ahead of next year s parliamentary elections. Thus, it hopes to divert public attention from still non existent basic services, continuing sectarianism, weak oil production, scant infrastructure investment, and rampant corruption and cronyism.