And, yet, he seems to find fault with behaviors, attitudes, and statements made by politicians that people in the mass media seem to ignore for one reason or another, not care about, or fail to recognize as faults.

He thought maybe he was expecting too much from politicians when considering integrity, ethics, morals, and equal status in the eyes of the laws that govern our nation. Perhaps, he thought, it was time to explore that possibility.

First, one must consider that power, money, and greed are likely to confront every politician. What he or she does with that power is dependent on internalized values. It depends on the person's ability to withstand pressure from many different sources, including one's family, high-dollar contributors, and other party members, to name a few.

Should we expect the people in Washington to withstand the tugs and pulls from attempted influences? Should we expect them to bend but not break when considering integrity above all else, regardless of negative influences on them?

Or, should we expect less from them than the average person who values honesty and hard work above getting a few dollars more?

We must also consider that if the system works, then we presumedly have the elite in the sense that they have been determined by the people to be the people who will serve us best, to be those that have the highest, strongest characters as defined by current accepted standards.

The old saying is that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. We can all be fairly certain that one cannot obtain more power than the politicians that lead us in Washington, especially those that have been in the game for many years. With that in mind, should they be exempted from accepted standards because of the distructive nature of the effects of power?

With this, we must also take into consideration the elected personnel in Washington often give their all (or so they say) in the name of representing their constituencies. Should we allow them some leniency when it comes to integrity and morality as long as the goal is to do what is best for their constituencies and the people of this nation? In other words, should the end justify the means?

Or, should we, instead, allow them to bend to the wills of people who control the money, power, and resources of this nation? The question here is whether or not the people who are pulling the strings are more important than those who work for very little (often not enough to get by on) along with middle-America that provides the brunt of financial support for this nation?

Should we allow politicians to do as, i.e., Gingrich has done? He has lied repeatedly and professes to not have known that he was in violation of any laws or rules of the House. And, yet, he heads the House. And, I believe is a trained attorney.

Hmmm. If he didn't know the rules, why did he lie at all, let alone for two years, about his "misappropriations" of monies contributed to education on a tax deductible basis? If he actually believed he was innocent of the allegations against him, isn't it more likely that he would have said,

"Yes, I did take and use the money as it was proper for me to use the money as I did and okay for the contributors to deduct the contributions"?

Should we expect any less of politicians than we expect of ourselves, to treat other people fairly, to display the highest degree of integrity, to not allow greed to overcome our value systems, and to never tell harmful lies to or about other people?

Should we treat politicians as adults who are mature enough to accept responsibility for their own actions? Should we hold them accountable for their actions and quit accepting any responses other than the truth?

The writer has considered the above and, for him, the answers are simple - The people we put in Washington should behave in the best interests of the people and, at all times, be the epitomy of decorum and family values politicians so often bring up during elections. That includes telling the truth and being honest.

Furthermore, politicians should never break a rule (if they don't know the rules, they should learn them before acting just as the general populace has to do), and, at least while holding public office, be perfect examples of currently acceptable moral and ethical behaviors, along with abiding 100 percent with the laws of the nation and their respective states.

And, yes, in the writer's opinion, politicians should be held responsible and accountable for their own actions and any statements made. That is the measure of a mature person. The writer expects no less from himself and society so why should he expect any less from the people in Washington?

You tell the writer, Ladies and Gentlemen, is he wrong? Are his expectations too high for the people that not only represent us on a national basis but also represent our values, ethics, and morality, our very core of what America is, to the rest of the world?

Should we, Ladies and Gentlemen, settle for less or should we, instead, demand more than what we are receiving?