Thomas might have found the key to congressional term limits

Cal Thomas wonders whether the spin about Anthony Weiner’s departure from Congress — the spin that suggests lying, not immoral conduct, did Weiner in — could lead to long-term benefits for American politics.

If lying is now the unpardonable political sin, we may at last have found a way to limit congressional terms. If lying is sufficient reason to expel a member, then the halls of Congress may soon be vacant of all but the janitorial crew who empty the trash and mop the floors at night.

All politicians lie at some level, even Jimmy Carter, who promised during the 1976 campaign and in the aftermath of Watergate, “I’ll never lie to you.” He did though. Google “Jimmy Carter lies” and read for yourself. According to the list, he’s still telling lies, 30 years after leaving office.

President George H.W. Bush promised, “Read my lips. No new taxes.” We read his lips, but were they lying lips? He caved into Congress, which raised taxes during his single term. Bush signed the legislation.

In 1963, before cynicism replaced skepticism in the press, Pentagon spokesman Arthur Sylvester spoke about government’s “inherent right to lie.” Granted, it was in the context of “to save itself when facing a nuclear disaster …” but as we know from the Pentagon Papers, lies from government became commonplace during the Vietnam War. More than 58,000 Americans, whose names appear on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, are victims of those lies.

President Obama’s lies about many things are catalogued on various websites and increasingly in mainstream newspapers. Some who led cheers for him in 2008 are now finding his lies difficult to ignore.

Glenn Kessler, who writes the Fact Checker column for the Washington Post, recently awarded the president “three Pinocchios” (out of four) for his claim that “Chrysler has repaid every dime and more of what it owes American taxpayers for their support during my presidency.”

There are many, more examples (obamalies.net/list-of-lies). Sure, Republicans lie, too, but, if lying about something, rather than bad ideas or bad behavior, is the new standard in Washington, someone had better tell the politicians.