Steve Duin suggested recently in The Oregonian that Wade Nkrumah had been naive to believe when he took the job as Mayor Sam Adams' communications director that the politician would be honest in his dealings with the press. It wasn't naiveté. It was idealism. Nkrumah, a former reporter for The Oregonian, actually thought the person who held the position of mayor should be forthright and direct and that the mayor's communications director should do the same. But it turned out that Sam Adams didn't understand the definition of honesty and when Nkrumah learned he was being asked to repeat the mayor's lies he resigned only to have the mayor tell the press Nkrumah couldn't handle the stress. Nkrumah sued the city and now that suit has been dismissed (The Oregonian reports an appeal may follow). I for one would like to have more people in politics - not less - who believe that honesty should be a foundational characteristic for political leaders and their staff members. As I've said before, I'm proud to have Wade Nkrumah as a friend.