Everyone tells those "little white lies" and then there are times when we are being lied to in terms of a serious question in our life or that of our country.

Recent reports on The Pentagon Papers had interviews with Daniel Ellsberg where he outlined the fact that we were losing in Vietnam. While on a WH plane, he discussed his findings, at length, with McNamara who agreed we were not "winning." Once McNamara got off the plane to meet the press, he immediately went into a discussion of how we were winning beyond our wildest expectations; directly contrary to the reports he had just received. Plainly stated, McNamara lied to the world and to the American people.

Were there any "tells" in the speech that Secretary Robert McNamara launched into at the foot of the steps off the plane? It doesn't seem so. He was cool, apparently confident and had none of that tell-tale sweating we always saw on President Nixon's forehead.

President Johnson also decided to deceive the American public by indicating there had been an attack on an American ship in the Bay of Tonkin; it was a lie. http://bitly.com/2mFHBKr The alleged attack was used to escalate the war in Vietnam.

When President Bill Clinton said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," he was lying, but did it look like he was lying? No, it didn't and he made a point of emphasizing it with his hand; a tell of a lie in some people's judgment. Additionally, he paused at many points. Forensic investigators see pauses like this as attempts to collect the person's thoughts in order to present a believable story. The YouTube video is here: http://bitly.com/2mDdnrl

Some use pauses, some find their mouths dry, some will shift their eyes from side to side, avoiding direct eye contact, but that's not always true of a liar. Liars can also attempt to "get over" on their audience by talking so fast and being so voluble that no one has a chance to question for irrelevances or areas where questions are needed.

Today, we saw an incredibly rambling, Tommy-gun approach to the medical exam results of Donald Trump. Although obese, with high cholesterol, the White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson (http://cnn.it/2mCg8ci) who rationalized the use of a cognitive assessment, it has problems with the truth. A cognitive test is not a usual test for Presidents, Dr. Jackson said and Mr. Trump got 30/30 on the test—seemingly outside the usual test results. He characterized Trump's health and cognition as "excellent."

Was the staccato delivery an attempt to use up the time and permit only limited questioning? Possibly. Was he anxious? No doubt since Mr. Trump, he knew, would be watching his performance.

Can we truly know when someone is trying to deceive? Not really. Psychologists know that we need to have a sample of the person's usual behavior in order to make some assumptions. In the instance of Dr. Jackson, we have none.

Has Mr. Trump's physical closed all discussion of his health and mental functioning? No. Patients have the right, whether a President or not, to release only the information they wish. President Kennedy's physicians hid the fact that he had Addison's Disease which he hid with a deep tan. They also knew he received excessive amounts of cortisone injections as well as stimulants. Kennedy was an exceedingly ill man who required crutches many times. Mr. Trump may hide his rosacea with heavy pancake makeup.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was also a man with limiting medical conditions. His staff carefully hid that fact that he wore heavy leg braces that had to be locked into place for him to walk. A special railroad station for his private train car was constructed beneath Grand Central Station in New York City for him to travel in secret and further hide his disability.

Is it usual for a White House physician to engage in deceit about the health of the President? History would seem to bear that out.