Keller @ Large: How Much Damage Can Our Government's Credibility Stand?

BOSTON (CBS) - Think of your own family, friends or co-workers.

If any one of them had the audacity to lie to your face, or pretend not to know something that you knew they did know, how would you feel about them going forward?

Not very confident, to say the least, right?

Check out this portion of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's sworn testimony Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, being asked about an obscenity president trump used during a meeting on immigration reform according to two senators present, one Democrat and one Republican.

"You were in the room," said Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. "You are under oath. Did President Trump use this word or a substantially similar word to describe certain countries?"

"I did not hear that word used, no sir," Nielsen said.

"That wasn't the question - did he use anything similar to that describing certain countries?" Leahy replied.

"The conversation was very impassioned, I don't dispute that the president was using tough language, others in the room were also using tough language," she testified.

"Did he use what would be considered vulgar language referring to certain countries? " Leahy asked.

"The president used tough language in general as did other Congressmen in the room, yes sir," Nielsen said.

Here's the problem.

When presidents and other top officials disregard the truth and play pretend, as President Obama did on Obamacare and President Clinton did on Monica Lewinsky - it leaves a stain that is hard to remove.

But it seems they never learn.

No wonder public confidence in government keeps falling. And after a while you start to wonder - how low can it go?

Share your opinion with me via email at keller@wbztv.com, or you can reach me on Twitter, @kelleratlarge.