The Political Psyche
But consider what many of the best Division I football and basketball players quickly become accustomed to: deluxe living arrangements on a college campus; personal helpers to attend to their daily needs; a free pass on demands that they graduate, study or even go to class; exemption from responsibility for minor incidents of wrongdoing; and then a million-dollar contract whenever their eligibility is up or they decide to turn pro on their own. Given the lives they lead, the curious thing isn't that so many athletes get in trouble, it's that more of them don't.
Politicians, even the most successful ones, don't experience all of these bounties. They aren't offered huge amounts of money to spend when they are barely past adolescence. As young aspirants to public office, they aren't pampered. If anything, they work harder than most ordinary citizens do to get where they want to be. Only when they reach the highest levels—president, governor, member of Congress—do they finally acquire personal aides to ease their way through the chores and difficulties of everyday life.
The longer one is protected from the indignities of routine living, the more likely it is that one will come to believe—at some level of awareness—that one occupies a special place in the world, governed by a different set of rules, and that these more lenient rules apply to moral as well as professional existence.
So in the end I find myself agreeing with the followers of Lord Acton more than I do with the arguments of Harold Lasswell or Robert Lane. There's no solid evidence that politicians start out with a different kind of mental and emotional equipment than other people. There's every reason to suppose that the lives they lead expose them to dangerous freedoms and temptations that some of them are too weak to resist. I think we have every right to throw the book at them when they transgress. But until we've been placed in that position, I don't think any of us can be absolutely sure how well we would do.
Alan Ehrenhalt is executive editor of Governing magazine and author of "The United States of Ambition" and "The Lost City."
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: JohnPolitico @ 04/16/2008 9:13:26 PM
Comment: Not that anybody cares or should care ... but I have a confession to make as a lifelong Republican:
I'M BITTER!
What the heck's WRONG with being a little bitter about the way our corrupt politicians treat us?! What's wrong with speaking up about it?! How else are we suppose to address various tough and/or sensitive issues that face this country today?
What? Are we all suppose to say or believe that everything's hunky-dory (e.g., economy, Iraq occupation, real estate bust, credit crunch, outrageous gas prices, general inflation, etc)?
How 'bout no! Let's face it ... things kinda do stink right now. But I really hope that people across the nation are really doing something to change things in their communities---RATHER THAN JUST TALKING OR BLOGGING ABOUT IT!
We can't just talk a great game. You gotta take action!
At the very least ... write or call your local senators and congressmen/women often to let them know exactly how you feel. What's important to you! Otherwise, how do you expect them to keep a FINGER ON THE PULSE OF AMERICA? Last time I checked, not one politician owns a magic crystal ball---they can't read minds!
They need to hear from us on a continuous basis. If you really and truly LOVE THIS COUNTRY ... it's your duty and obligation to speak up when you think things are going sour. Don't let the "POLITICAL ELITIST" (e.g. the Klintoonies) and/or MEDIA control your minds. Don't let these elitist that like to throw around words and labels such as "BITTER" discourage you from speaking up.
That's just a ploy to shut you up! Make you feel bad about having an opinion. Sorry folks! But I love this country way too much to bury my head in the sand! If anybody should be bitter it's ALL US REPUBLICANS that have seen our PARTY get HIJACKED BY THE NEOCONS for the past 7 long years!
TALK ABOUT BEING DISENFRANCHISED!
Trust me! Dems aren't the only people that are bitter! Respectfully ...
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
John McCain 2008!
Endnote; I shouldn't paint all politicians with a broad brush ... that's unfair. I would have to say that most politicians are good-hearted people. But all it takes is a FEW BAD APPLES IN HIGH PLACES to spoil the whole darn tree. To all the GOOD POLITICIANS OUT THERE ... please weed out the BAD ONES! Thank you!!!!
Posted By: Illinois Voter @ 04/16/2008 7:00:17 PM
Comment: This year, Equal Pay Day -- the day every year on which women???s wages catch up to men???s wages for the prior year ??? falls on April 22. Although it has been more than 40 years since the Equal Pay Act became law, full-time working women make just .77 cents for every dollar a man makes. And it's even worse for women of color.
The wage gap makes a real difference to families, who lose out on money that could be used to help feed children, put a down payment on a home, and pay for health care.
Hillary Clinton has been a champion for equal pay for women. Her legislation, the Paycheck Fairness Act, would help close the wage gap for women across the country, ultimately putting more money in the pockets of America???s families. Hillary has also worked in the Senate not only to ensure women earn the same amount as men for equal work but also to expand the earned income tax credit, provide healthcare for children, raise the minimum wage, and stand up for female-owned small businesses.
As President, Hillary Clinton would bring to the White House a long record of fighting for women and children -- and holding our government to a higher standard for improving the lives for all families.
Posted By: powin @ 04/16/2008 5:44:48 PM
Comment: OlderBudWeiser wrote, "Should the administration make overtures to working class white southerners who had all but forsaken the Democratic Party?. . . 'Screw 'em,' she told her husband. 'You don't owe them a thing, Bill.'"
Bud,
I hope that HRC wouldn't be so obtuse and crass to say that on her campaign trail. It's shameful if what you said is verifiable and true.
Po