Is It Ever Right to Lie? The Philosophy of Deception

By ROBERT C. SOLOMON

No matter what you think of his politics or his personality, it is hard not to sympathize with President Clinton. The economy is booming, war is on the horizon, yet the press is rabid about sex in the White House. Of course, even in this "puritan" culture, there are few who would insist that the President should be impeached because of his by now well-known sexual proclivities. Rather, the question is: Did he lie (or tell someone else to)?

The importance of this question was