Why Would Anyone Trust A Politician?

With all the exposes, rumors, innuendos, "leaks," and information that the public hears about various politicians, is there any wonder that politicians are held in such low esteem? Although politicians were never the most respected professionals, it seems that today, the public holds politicians in the lowest esteem ever. Every report, poll, political discussion, talk show, etc., has some report or another about some scandal, impropriety or outright lie or dishonest act by some politician. Politicians that have come under attack for misconduct of some sort include: President Clinton, Vice President Cheney, Governor Sanford, Governor Spitzer, Governor Patterson, John Edwards, Congessman Rangel, and many others. The State of Connecticut, for example, has had numerous Governors removed or convinced to leave office because of public scandals, and both the former Governors of New York and New Jersey, left office prematurely because of certain indiscretions that were made public. Is there any wonder that the American public is so disgruntled with their elected officials, or that a movement such as the Tea Party, which basically has as its central belief to throw the "bums out," has gained so much traction and popularity.

While there have always been incidents of political improprieties reported, in our technological, multi-media age, indiscretions are far more difficult to hide. Remember that both President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew were forced out of office by scandals, rumors abounded about the extra-marital escapades of former politicos such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Nelson Rockefeller, and even Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, amongst many others. Let us not forget how pictures aboard a yacht impacted the political campaign of former Presidential candidate Gary Hart.

Why should the public trust politicians? Former Senator Charles Goodell perhaps explained politicians best when he said, "Politicians are like antelopes. When things get tough, they paint their behinds white and run with the crowd." Until the public demands campaign rules changes, and requires our elections to be about issues and not personalities, we will continue to be disappointed. My only confusion about this is how the public can be disappointed in politicians when they think so little of them in the first place!

A politician's personal life should be just that - personal - unless that aspect pervades into his ability to govern. While Bill Clinton's personal life was certainly a distraction that was not helpful to his governing, he was still able to effectively lead this country. Imagine what he might have accomplished had he not been distracted?

The reality probably is that we should not expect the best person qualified to be elected President. The most qualified individual - - - one who is knowledgeable, honest, a true leader, disciplined, "tough" when he needs to be, a terrific negotiator, "sees the big picture" while being somewhat visionary, and can convince others to "do the right thing" instead of just politics as usual - - - would probably never want to run for the office. We need to change our political system, but since our politicians have not even been able to effectively lead regarding the economy, how can we expect major changes? That will only happen when the public really believes what was the most memorable line in the movie, "Network," which was, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any longer."