A Pittsburgh newspaper called it "a little white lie." But when House Speaker faced a potentially embarrassing question from a fourth grader at an elementary school in Pittsburgh this week, he offered a less-than-honest answer.

Perzel was at the school to donate 100 books he collected at his annual Speakers Ball. Nice.

But when a fourth grader asked if he came in a limo and could she see the limo, Perzel paused, then said, "I came in a car."

He further tried to satisfy the curious fourth grader by saying, "If there was a limo out there, we could go see it."

In fact, Perzel was transported to the school in a black Lincoln Town Car with limousine plates. And the "car" was still waiting for him when the young girl expressed curiosity about the limo. But by the time Perzel was ready to leave, he and his handlers decided to send away the black Town Car with limousine (the "Car"). Perzel then climbed into an aides SUV and left.

This simple exchange with a student revealed that Perzel is sensitive to public perception - a black limo might not send the right message. It might suggest he is out of touch with the common person, so he opted for an available SUV instead.

Though it's odd that Perzel felt compelled to cloud the truth when talking with a fourth grader about the kind of car in which he was travelling. Far more offensive is Perzel's prominent role in the middle-of-the-night pay-raise vote and the stealth techniques used to shepherd the bill through the State House. His less-than-truthful answer to a fourth grader pales in comparison to the affront Perzel and his fellow legislative leaders have committed in the pay-raise fiasco and the associated use of bogus expense reports (called unvouched expenses in Harrisburg) in clear violation of the state constitution.

Perzel can be excused for not wanting to tell the young student the truth about the fancy car that brought him to the school. He cannot be excused, however, for his role in the controversial pay-raise vote - and clear legislative abuse of power and violation of the intent of the state constitution that it has revealed.