Because, of course, a lie of omission* can't really be considered a lie at all!

Of course, it all depends what we mean by lie. In my experience this tends to vary from person to person.

Personally, I do tend to lie of omission* much more willingly than not of omission, though I am not really convinced that it is any more moral.

I'm afraid I don't understand what you're saying. When he was asked if he would donate more money to these causes, a savvy person would have thought to himself, "You know, I've already said how I feel about the issue at hand. However, clearly my donations are causing some very bad press for the company I'm supposed to lead, so it would be unwise as a leader to repeat that action however I personally feel," and honestly answered, "No, I'm not going to donate to those causes anymore despite whatever my personal viewpoints are." No lies.