Our representative democracy has survived, and thrived, for over 200 years. Don't think that would have been the case if most politicos had been slimeballs from the beginning.

There have been periods of corruption, like under Grant and Harding. But the integrity of our political system, under our Constitution, endured. Corruption was inevitably followed by reform.

Even today, definitely an era when the scum rises to the top, some politicians are OK. As an example,I believe Patty Murray, our senior senator, is a fine person who does not lie and/or manipulate for personal gain.

The threat to our nation is not so much the "normal" corruption of failable human beings. It is that our government has fallen into the hands of men who do not love America.

Bush, as the prime example, knows nothing about our history and nothing about our democratic traditions. And he could not care less. He is an ignorant man for whom the Constitution is an obstacle, not a guide.