Chris Dudley’s gotten himself into a bit of hot water by hiding the dual purpose of his family “vacation” — skipping a major debate with John Kitzhaber by saying he had a family vacation planned when, in truth, the vacation itself was planned to allow him to attend the Republican Governors Association meeting in Colorado. While most Oregonians are probably paying little attention to the matter — I can hear the moans of “ick. politics!” around the state — this really is more important than “politics”.

Unless, of course, you don’t care if the next governor is someone whose word you can trust.

Many commenters have noted that if Dudley had been upfront, said he was skipping the debate to combine a family vacation with a major political event, everyone would have been fine with that. The publishers, whose debate he skipped, would still have been ticked off, but the realities of a campaign’s requirements would have tempered that. Unfortunately, Dudley decided he wasn’t going to bother to tell anyone about the political event part of his vacation.

Because, of course, there was no way anyone back in Oregon would ever find out what he was doing in Colorado.

Oh dear. In addition to distrustful of Oregonians, it looks like “dumb” needs to be added to the list of Dudley’s sins here.

What is troubling is how unnecessary this was. If he had just gone on vacation and done the Governors’ event at the same time, no one would have cared. But by using a “family vacation” as cover for the political event, he demonstrated a variety of disrepects for numerous people. Whether or not voters care about that debate, and I’m guessing precious few did, that Dudley felt it was acceptable or necessary to deceive people this way is shameful. Yes, it was a relatively small deception given the nature of what many politicians have done. But deceit it was.

A lie, in fact.

This was not a white lie, either, the kind you tell for ethically sound reasons. This was a lie told to deceive. Though less reprehensible, it is exactly the same kind of lie Sam Adams told when the Breedlove scandal first reared its ugly head. Dishonesty is not measured in black-and-white absolutes. The difference between Dudley’s and Adams’ lies is in magnitude, not in substance. Lies told for selfish reasons are vivid displays of a person’s character. And while no one will call for Dudley to set aside his nomination for governor, the likelihood is that this will cost him votes.

It should.

Policy and politics aside, Oregon needs a governor who will tell hard truths, no matter the cost he may face. John Kitzhaber has been doing that throughout his campaign; he hasn’t ducked the tough challenges, even leaving open the possibility of another go at a sales tax. He’s traveled the state, meeting and talking with thousands of citizens, answering their questions to the best of his ability. I’ve seen him do this, at the very least giving an ear to the complaints and concerns of citizens who manage to corner him at an event. He’s told the state up-front: You’re not going to like what we need to do, but if you elect me, I’ll do whatever it takes to get the state back on course.

That’s another thing Chris Dudley has not been honest about, either. We know almost nothing about what he might do as governor. He’s as empty of substantive policy proposals as he is on vacation and travel plans. If we cannot take his words about how he’s spending a weekend, how can we trust his word on his policy plans?

Simply put, we can’t.