American presidents don't lie?

Bangalore, India, October 30 — I was told when I started duty as a young officer in the government of India that "American presidents do not lie to their people" and that the United States of America is so powerful that its leaders do not need to tell lies, since they can face the consequences of any truth, even uncomfortable truths. We were discussing the incident of the U.S. U-2 spy plane being shot down by Russians when it flew over Russia, and Eisenhower’s admission of the event after the fact.

When I heard the recent speech of President Bush about the financial crisis facing America and the recommended bailout plan of $700 billion, the above quote came to my mind. His speech is not even believed by his party's nominee for the November 2008 U.S. elections, Senator McCain, who joined his opponent, Senator Obama, and issued a common statement not approving the bailout. U.S. Presidents Lincoln, Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy all had that aura of truth around them, while we know that Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Clinton and now Bush have reduced that aura of truth around the American presidency.

When Bush told Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani that Pakistan's territorial integrity will be respected even as American special forces were inside Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas conducting an operation, he should have told him the truth instead. The American media is also culpable to a large extent for the creation of this lies-into-truth business for the sake of the presidency and national interest. While Bush told the Indian prime minister in 2005 about making India a nuclear power without needing to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, now he is saying that his promises to the prime minister were just "political promises." Of course, there are the fiascos with Iraq and the weapons of mass destruction and, more recently, his warning to Iran, a bluff that was called by the Iranian president. "Talk softly, but carry a big stick" was the advice given by an earlier president, but it seems that Bush has not learned this important lesson.

Why is it important for an American president to either speak the truth or keep quiet when posed uncomfortable questions?

1. He is the most powerful person in the world, leading the richest nation in the world and commanding the most powerful army in the world. If he cannot speak the truth without fear of consequences, then who else can?

2. It is also morally important for the American president to speak the truth, because he is also perceived as the leader of a Christian nation. Nobody thinks about Pope Benedict when they talk about Christian leaders. Normally, it is the American president who is perceived as a Christian leader of the West by Third World countries.

Even in India, we have this aura around some politicians, like Laloo Prasad Yadav, Priyanka Gandhi and Arun Shourie, although not with very many other politicians, while, in tinsel town, actress Preity Zinta has this aura about her.

Does Obama or McCain have this aura? It is for the American people who elect their leader to judge. The ability to speak the truth and a readiness to face its consequences should be important criteria for the man who wins the U.S. election in November 2008.