Wrongdoing in Washington: Does anyone care anymore? | Battle Creek Enquirer - www.battlecreekenquirer.com - Battle Creek, Mich.

Wrongdoing in Washington: Does anyone care anymore? Battle Creek Enquirer - www.battlecreekenquirer.com - Battle Creek, Mich.: "Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was having an extramarital affair while he was blasting President Bill Clinton for having an extramarital affair. Is anyone surprised? The FBI abused its powers under the USA Patriot Act after denying for years it was doing anything illegal or improper. Didn't see that one coming? I. Lewis Libby lied and obstructed in the case of the leak of a CIA agent's identity even as he and his boss, Vice President Dick Cheney, claimed they had nothing to do with the matter. Can you believe it? Recent revelations in Washington, D.C. — the latest in a long, long, long string of lies and hypocrisy — are numbing to a citizenry whose separation from the faux reality created by our political leaders is already alarmingly wide. In the real world, we rarely pause when we learn that Joe Politician did wrong. In the real world, we've actually come to expect this, which is amazingly ironic since we make believe that elections are about sending to Washington the best representatives of ourselves. Out here, we work all day and go home tired. We study in school and worship at church. We try to stay healthy enough to have fun on the weekends or compete in sports. We do our best for our children. Sometimes we do something brilliant. And when we screw up, which we do as often as any politician, we generally get in some sort of trouble. Granted, the real world isn't ruled entirely by reason and order, but it's a far cry from the laws of spin, public attention and unaccountability that are codified in the Washington mindset. In Gingrich's case, he admits he's embarrassed to admit"