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<p>Would it be a good idea to &#8230;</p><p>&#8230; test the truthfulness of our political candidates by subjecting them to lie detector tests?</p><p>A reader of timesleader.com &#8211; who, perhaps tellingly, uses a pseudonym as a screen name &#8211; posted the suggestion to an <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/opinion/editorials/571673/our-opinion-mobilize-with-groups-such-as-represent-us-to-stop-government-corruption-in-nepa" target="_blank">editorial published last week</a> about combating government corruption. He, or maybe she, proposed that office seekers submit to the pre-election use of a &#8220;standardized polygraph test.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The questions could be made public,&#8221; suggested the commenter, &#8220;so the politicians would know what they will be asked in advance. The candidate who agrees to take and pass this test certainly will have the edge in an election. And we&#8217;ll end up with honest politicians.&#8221;</p><p>The theory seemingly gives far too much credence to the tests&#8217; accuracy. The American Psychological Association, among others, cautions against assuming that a polygraph exam is foolproof. &#8220;The most practical advice is to remain skeptical about any conclusion wrung from a polygraph,&#8221; states information on the association&#8217;s website.</p><p>Nevertheless, certain people, most of whom probably can be classified as &#8220;disaffected voters,&#8221; continue to advanced the notion of subjecting would-be statesmen and stateswomen to a very public analysis of their Pinocchio qualities. A petition appearing late last year on MoveOn.org, for instance, calls for getting &#8220;the truth out of our presidential candidates!&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We should demand lie detector tests be administered to all U.S. presidential candidates for the 2016 election on live television,&#8221; it states. The online petition has attracted only 13 signatures.</p><p>At least one candidate for Congress attempted this year to make sincerity a selling point of his campaign by taking a polygraph test. Voters apparently didn&#8217;t buy it. The congressional hopeful from California performed below four other candidates in the June primary, garnering only 1.4 percent of the vote, according to Ballotpedia.com&#8217;s tally.</p><p>For the time being, fact-checking services such as <a href="http://politifact.com/" target="_blank">PolitiFact.com</a> probably provide the most reliable vetting of candidates&#8217; claims.</p><p>Would you be more inclined to vote for someone who passed a lie detector test?</p><p>If you ran for office, would you want to face the scrutiny of an exam that revealed your physiological reactions? Tell the truth.</p><p>Then give us your feedback by sending a letter to the editor or posting comments to this editorial at timesleader.com.</p><p>Likewise, tell us your ideas for improving the community. Maybe we&#8217;ll spotlight your suggestion in a future editorial and ask readers, &#8220;Would it be a good idea to &#8230;&#8221;</p><style>
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Our Opinion: Would lie detector test yield better candidates for public office?