There's something about suspected liars that bothers us. Richard Nixon made you want to grind your teeth when he was shaking his jowls and saying, "I am not a crook." Bill Clinton's finger-wagging insistence that "I did not have sex with that woman" made him the most despised American president since, well, Richard Nixon.

Floyd Landis, who claims he never took performance enhancing substances, went from hero to gag line faster than you can say "Tour de France."

It's not cheating alone that really gets to us; it's the combination with lying. Gaylord Perry cheated by doctoring baseballs, but winked when questioned on the subject. Of course he cheated. But he wasn't denying it, so he was voted into the Hall of Fame. When Hugh Grant went on a talk show to admit he solicited a prostitute, he said it was a stupid mistake. Soon he was right back to playing the romantic lead. But add lying — or the appearance of it — to cheating and it's a different story.

Suddenly you're as welcome as a draft dodger at a Toby Keith concert.

So don't look for McGwire to enter the Hall any time soon. And don't look for him to tell his story, either. Talk about the dangers of steroids? Yes, he can do that. As long as he's not part of the discussion.

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E-mail: rock@desnews.com