Reply #2: I know how I answer those questions [View All]

1. I think a lot of them go in with great ideas of what they are going to do for the folks back home and find that the job is completely different from what their civics class in high school told them it would be. They also find out that the people who paid to put them into office expect a lot of things in return and if the money goes away, so does their chance of getting anything good done. The worst get cynical and turn crooked. The best hang in there and try to do the best job they can in spite of the system. Examples of the latter would be Kucinich, Sanders, Kennedy and even Kerry.

2. Choose your heroes wisely and recognize that the most heroic of the heroes is going to have some surprising warts in surprising places. None of us is perfect. Remember that someone can be a hero one day and Satan's helper the next. Also recognize that a hero in one area can be a real scumbag in another.

That's the viewpoint that helps me keep some semblance of sanity.