To the editor:

Most of us are now aware of lies by President Johnson in regard to the Vietnam War, President Nixon in regard to Watergate and President Clinton in regard to Monica. But who would have thought that President Bush would tell an “untruth” in his most important State of the Union address?

However, the administration has already admitted that Bush’s charges that Iraq was buying uranium from Africa were based upon “faulty information” and the allegations should not have appeared in the speech. But who is responsible for the false information in the president’s speech?

Republicans, of course, insist that the charges are just politics by Democrats and dismiss them as not very important. Sen. John McCain and many independent-minded people are asking for an investigation if the president is not more forthcoming.

Few people believe Bush deliberately lied, but he should have been capable of analyzing such information himself. Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. diplomat, and other officials had investigated the charges and declare that the administration did know weeks in advance of the speech that the information was false.

Will Bush blame his “untruth” upon the CIA or some underling, or will he have the guts to accept the responsibility himself as he has not yet done? I hope he will be honest and recall President Truman’s declaration: “The buck stops here,” before his credibility, as well as the nation’s, is further eroded.

Harold Piehler,

Lawrence