An interesting post about political corruption on Larry Sabato's site. Though not instantly germane, I thought this was a particularly good point:
A system of government or politics can be at least as corrupting as human nature itself. We have studied politicians in close proximity for years, and as much as it may disappoint the cynics, we have not found politicians to be venal as a class. While there are a number of individual exceptions, most professional politicians, especially those already in public office, want to do good or seek to do the right thing, if doing good is an option that does not result in their political demise. However, if the "normal and customary" practices of campaigning engaged in both parties are seedy, and if a candidate believes "everybody's doing it, and if I don't do it, I may lose," then most politicians will suspend their ethical codes. They will willingly accept a distasteful means that ensures what they regard as the good and essential end of their continued power. In other words, otherwise ethical people are put at a disadvantage by a corrupting system and almost forced to do unto others as they are being done to. Strict ethicists will correctly argue that the truly honorable person would not stoop to conquer, whatever the provocation. Yet reasonable reformers must keep in mind that the professional politician has a "power gene" in his or her genetic code that overrides all usual inhibitions to achieve victory or maintain power--and genetic engineering, however advanced it may become, will never be able to change that reality.
As I say, if the transcripts are any guide, it seems unlikely to apply to Blagojevich himself; he does not seem to fall into the category of "otherwise ethical people... put at a disadvantage". But many if not most offenders probably do.
Scott Turow, author of "Presumed Innocent", has some inside dope.
This tracks exactly with Hannah Arendt's conclusions about the nature of Nazi evil in "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil". Insert someone into the topsy-turvy world of a totalitarian government bureaucracy, and otherwise "normal" people committed astoundingly evil acts.
The exceptions proved the rule: in places like Denmark where the locals retained something like what we would recognize as "conscience", the local Nazi officials living in that environment had a greater tendency to sabotage orders having to do with the Final Solution, vs their counterparts in other occupied countries.
It's a brilliant book.
Yet reasonable reformers must keep in mind that the professional politician has a "power gene" in his or her genetic code that overrides all usual inhibitions to achieve victory or maintain power--and genetic engineering, however advanced it may become, will never be able to change that reality.
Um...I'm not sure it's genetic, I thinks it's just plain old desire and ambition, which are good qualities in and of themselves. Unfortunately when faced with the prospect of corruption, that ambition self-deludes by convincing the person they can do more good in office (corrupt) than out (clean), which is not only unfortunate but wrong.
Of course you have those who are corrupt personalities and would be looking to hustle as a banker, police officer or contractor...unfortunately Blago has fit this category for sometime, thus the ambition argument doesn't really apply. What we heard yesterday wasn't a fight with one's conscience, it was slickster hustle.
k1
This would seem to mine from the same vein as the observation that while congress as a whole is generally looked upon with disfavor by electorate, we generally chose to return incumbent to office. Similarly, lawyers are not generally spoken of in affectionate terms, but most people like their own lawyer just fine.
Ok, this whole Blagojevich story really needs to go away. Sadly, the more bad publicity he gets, the more he will make when he writes a book two years from now. He doesn't deserve it.