Right, and the mindset also is that blatant lying is pretty much the only way to do things.
So true. Lying to the public is the rule, not the exception. We really aren't that much different from the people of North Korea in that regard. The only difference is that the lie fed to us is tailored for our situation, and the lies fed to them are tailored for theirs.
Within that OIG report about the President's Surveillance Program, there is discussion of AG Gonzales testimony before Congress. The conclusion was that it was misleading, but not a lie. The average person would laugh at that characterization, because Gonzales lied his ass off, and the only reason it isn't a lie is some sophistry about the difference between out and out lying, and deliberate and willful misrepresentation so the listener comes to the wrong (and opposite) conclusion.