Why aren't elected officials considered to be under oath at all times?

[Orrex]

Why, in other words, aren't they required to speak truthfully in every official capacity?

If I were caught lying in the course of performing my job, I would be dismissed by the end of the day--and rightly so.

Why am I held to a higher standard than our esteemed elected officials?

[arcane1]

1. I'd have hoped they would at least be under oath when speaking on the floor

If they want to lie on the campaign, etc, that's one thing. But while on the House or Senate floor, they should be sworn in every freakin' MORNING!

[Snoutport]

6. +1,000,000

[notesdev]

2. Because they'd have to run the country from jail

[nosmokes]

3. So? Other organized crime syndicates manage that on a regular basis...

[pnwmom]

4. Lying under oath carries criminal penalties. Lying at work doesn't. n/t

[Orrex]

7. Well, that kind of misses the point.

Whether or not it's a legal thou-shalt-land-in-jail oath or simply a cause for ejection from office, the underlying point is the same: why are they held to no standard of truthfulness whatsoever?

You're right that I won't be thrown into jail if I lie to a customer--though in certain professions this would certainly be a possibility--but I don't understand why I am, as I stated, held to a higher standard of honesty than legislators whose dishonesty can lead to millions of deaths.

[madinmaryland]

5. READ the oath they take. There is nothing in it about not telling a lie.

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

Now compare that to the oath you take when you are in a legal proceeding.

Un-recced for bring lounge material to teh GD!

[Orrex]

8. Wait. What?

Um...

[bemildred]

9. It's for our own good. We're too stupid to know what's good for us. nt

[R. P. McMurphy]

10. How would they ever hope to get re-elected? n/t

[craigmatic]

11. Our system is founded on lies the truth would bring down the whole system.