Lying: A Government Institution

There is an alternative to governmental lying. It is to tell the truth. Or, if need be, to remain silent.

David Wise

I, for one, believed Bill Clinton, when he publically stated he did not have sex with "that woman." And I will not forgive him for lying to ME. When I look back on that TV moment, I can't help but laugh at my staunch defense of him. His ego and his office took in both Hillary and me. I was naïve (she was in denial).

My fellow liberal friends tried to counter my anger by detailing all the good social programs he initiated during his presidency. But I can't forget that one special social program. Presidential lying to the American public is unacceptable.

I have always thought that Watergate was a watershed when it came to the public's trust of government. When someone like my father (a born Democrat who, back then, was morphing into a conservative Republican right before my eyes) started calling, first Nixon, then all politicians "crooks," I knew something had changed.

Nixon, however, was neither the first nor the last to misinform. In today's Washington Post, David Wise (author of The Politics of Lying) gives us a brief history of recent presidential deceit.