Amen brother, amen. Our politicians and leaders no longer make decisions based on what's best for America. They do so based on the impact those decisions will have on their personal fortunes and that of their party. The almost exclusive goal is to retain power or expand it in the next election cycle.
I honestly don't think anything will change -ever - unless we find a way to incentivize the right kind of Americans to pursue elected office for the right reasons. I think you could revolutionize the effectiveness of our elected officials overnight with 2 basic changes. The first are term limits. I don't care if those are fairly generous, such as perhaps a max lifetime total of 8 years in national office of any kind (ie..apply the same standard to Congress that already applies to the presidency). The 2nd revolutionary change would be to set the pay structures of elected national officials at exactly the national salary average, and strictly forbid (and enforce) a ban on additional personal revenue (associated with their role as an elected official) during their service period.
Do those 2 things, and running for office becomes something only those looking to make a difference and pure of heart would find particularly attractive. Of course, changes like that are largely a pipe-dream, because the American citizenry has been asleep for so long, they've allowed their leaders to become so universally powerful that all attempts to restrict the power and influence of our 'leaders' will likely never make it to the table. I think the biggest disappointment of the Obama Presidency will turn out to be the recognition, even by his staunchest supporters, that despite the inspiring oratory, Obama is just another politician.
