We haven’t had the kind of scandal that Britain is having in the modern era and I’m not sure we have ever had one that is so widespread as the one in England. Therefore, I can’t conclude that corruption among politicians is somehow inevitable. I think probably the abuse of power is very widespread among politicians and maybe among most who acquire a lot of power. However, the kind of corruption to do with money that we see in other countries is not as usual here. I don’t recall a really bad money scandal at the federal level since Spiro Agnew got caught taking bribes.

Yes, of course, it’s the human condition. Almost everyone I’ve ever known who had an expense account has abused it in at least some tiny way. And then you throw in the ego and entitlement and sense of being above the law that has afflicted politicians almost since time began, and … whew. Like Joan, I well remember the travails of Spiro Agnew (I had a watch with his face on it and the slogan "Spiro Is My Hero," which suddenly became a far more valuable piece of memorabilia), but my Lord, a whole lot more has happened since then.

Let’s see: Abscam, the Keating 5, the House Post Office scandal, Jack Abramoff, Rep. Jim Wright’s book deal, Sen. Ted Stevens’s house renovations, Rep. Randy Cunningham’s Rolls Royce – and that is just what I am sure is but a very few off the top of my head. The trial of my own former congressman, Bill Jefferson, who was caught by the FBI with $90,000 hidden in his freezer, begins today. And then there’s all the trouble you get into with so-called "soft money" and the byzantine campaign finance rules, whether it is the appearance of impropriety by "selling" nights in the Lincoln Bedroom or Al Gore’s making fund-raising pitches from the veep’s office.

All this grubbing for money is so tawdry that it makes me long for good old-fashioned sex scandals. I loved it when the aging Wilbur Mills was caught cavorting in the tidal basin with the "Argentine Firecracker," the stripper Fanne Fox. His priceless response when asked if he’d learned anything: "Yes, never drink champagne with foreigners."

Alas, the human condition is in the condition it is in mainly because of the corruption of power. Sadly, it seems we humans are genetically encoded with the “Greed is Good” Gekko gene.

Just think what we could be if we had the drive to attain power, not for selfish reasons, but for all the good we could do with it.

Power and its abuse are buddies. Nature of us as beasts.