It made me wonder just how many people were actually polled. The reason for this is, in most unofficial polling, such as people just talking, the consensus has been that very few trust any politician. Furthermore, most (at least 95 percent) believe that politicians lie, cheat, are philanderers (affairs they also lie about), and (rather despicable) most elections are based on the lesser of two evils.

A good example of this is a senate race in the state of Illinois. According to the above poll, Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun trails Peter Fitzgerald 46 percent to 35 percent.

Is it because Fitzgerald is trustworthy and that voters believe he is the best person for the job? No. He leads in the poll simply because many people are supporting Fitzgerald because he isn’t Moseley-Braun.

The people polled questioned her integrity which surprised me since Congress is full people lacking integrity. Merits of individuals may have little to do with which way an election is likely to go.

Take the last presidential primaries. Nine people campaigned for the Republican nomination. Of those nine, each proved that the other eight were not suitable for office. The result was that the man the party thought could win enough votes to become president won the nomination - Dole.

Was it because he was the best man that would do the most good for this nation? Or was it because he was the man the party felt could return the presidency and awesome power of the office to the Republican Party?

We people here in Missouri (and I am sure in the other 49 states) would like to think politicians have integrity which is - dare it be said - a pipe-dream. At this time, many politicians who formally supported President Clinton are moving away and speaking out. Is it because they believe in integrity and morality? Or, is it because they are worried about their own congressional seats?

After having read the comments of those that have been vocal, the actual concern is their own seats. Of course, the Republican Party is using (as was their plan all along) the negatives about Clinton to the maximum.

Nearly all these people, whether Republican or Democrat, are expressing concern about the damage being done to young people. But, according to many young people, most believe politicians do not have any integrity and fool around, anyway. Clinton’s antics did little to contribute to this.

No, the concern of our leaders in Washington is not damage to young people that might be done but, rather, damage to their own positions and the power of their respective parties. That is the name of the game in our nation’s capitol with Power translating to financial gain.

If the people truly want integrity to rule the nation, if people truly want only moral people in Congress, then it is likely that we will have to elect a brand new Congress and remove all those now hold offices since none, or very few, have integrity.

This has been shown quite clearly when Republicans kept Gingrich in office, a felon if there ever was one. During the time of Gingrich’s admission to having lied to Congress and the American public for over two years concerning his taking of donated funds, his lack of admission of his affair with Anne Manning, not only did Republicans keep him as House Leader for political reasons, but Democrats let it happen. Why?

One could suspect if a full investigation of Gingrich was conducted, it might bleed off onto others of both parties with the result being that their own private lives would have the potential of being investigated.

In example, every last one of them have relied on campaign funding designed to purchase the vote of the party leaders (who have very strong control over the others) by special interest groups. If the party passed any legislation in favor of the special interest group, or if the part received any perks from the interest group, then all the party members benefitted.

Whether directly involved or not, the fact remains that any soft contributions used in a hard contribution manner were still used for the party’s good, if not directly each individual’s election or re-election. Yes, President Clinton did lie about an affair and did so under oath. But, I wonder.... Just how would others answer if questioned directly about immoral affairs, whether it be a heterosexual or homosexual affair?

If President Clinton is forced into resigning or, God forbid, impeached, will it be because it is the right thing to do or because of major party member’s re-election, whether the positive effect for republican or negative effects on Democrats hoping for re-election?

I guess what I am asking is - is integrity, including morality, the deep-seated concern? I, for one, do not believe the ‘behind-closed-doors’ system our Congress operates under, that integrity or morality are the essence for any decision as it might negate “What will this do for me?”that seems to guide Washington politicians to the wealth and power they crave.

And, since we keep re-electing officials known to have lied to the American people, people who have taken advantage of special interest groups’ offerings, then integrity and morality must not be our primary concerns.

We, the people of this nation, have allowed our leaders in Washington to degenerate to the quagmire of corruption they now wallow in.