The leaked secret reports about Afghanistan were disappointing. That Republican and Democratic administrations had kept these secrets was more disappointing. But the reaction of Republican and Democratic officials to the leaked reports was the most disappointing.

Not one of them apologized for lying to the American people. Not one of them had any shame for having falsely accused others of lying. Not one of them said anything about not lying in the future.

Their concern? Now it could be proven they had been lying and that government officials had known for years about incompetence, failure and senseless killing of innocent civilians — civilians, people just like your wife, husband, brothers, sisters, children, and other family members.

My real disappointment is this information was known but internal reports were marked "secret." So the U.S. government would not be admitting to the truth of those incidents or could lie about them to us and others.

Maybe I missed something growing up, but I thought lying was wrong. How can we make good decisions about whom to elect, either Republicans or Democrats, if lying is a standard practice? If Republicans and Democrats will lie to us about Afghanistan, they are willing to lie about health care, tax reform, immigration, the economy, etc.

I wonder if lying is one of those "family values" that candidates harp about during elections? Must be since it is standard practice by both major parties. I think we need candidates or parties whose "family values" do not include lying. How about you?