New York, Sept. 24 : There is at least one area where John McCain and Barack Obama agree – they would not fancy lying to the public.

In separate interviews with CBS, both said that they would seek to be above board and transparent in their interactions with the American public, should either of them become president.

When asked when it would be appropriate to lie to the American people, Obama said: I don''t think it''s appropriate to lie to the American people. I mean ... you can put together a hypothetical where there is a national security emergency that is imminent. And you don''t want to provide, for example, the location of our troops. You don''t have to lie in those situations. You simply say, "we''re not answering questions."

I don''t think it''s appropriate to lie. And I think that one of the things I want to change about the culture of Washington is, not just the "big lie," but also the "soft lie," he added.

“If we can restore a sense of trust between the American people and their government, we''re going to go a long way to changing the country for the better,” he said.

When McCain was asked the same question, he also said: “I can''t imagine it, to start with, because ... I just think that the one thing you have to have, as president, is your credibility.”

When asked what his response would be in a national security situation?, McCain said: Yeah. I was trying to imagine that. But if you deceive the American people and you want their support, and you want them to beat back this national security challenge, and you don''t tell them the truth about it then I think they become disillusioned. That''s happened in the past.

Referring to the Vietnam War, for example, he said that the Americans were always told that there is light is at the end of the tunnel, “and it turned out to be a train.”

“I think one of the reasons why America came out of the Great Depression is that Franklin Delano Roosevelt went on the radio all the time and had the fireside chats and said "here''s what we''re facing but here''s what we''re going to do." (ANI)