I think the modern problem and demise of politics came when Bill Clinton took office and embraced celebrity. He was really the first modern president to consider himself one of the Hollywood elite. Since then, it's about style not substance. Guys like Schumar in New York, Wexler, Pelosi and others, all think about their image and ego far more than what's best for the country. They'd rather go on national TV, on the steps of the Senate and bold face lie rather than simply admit that one of their colleagues may have had a better idea or succeeded in something. They're all media whores these days. I think of the joke made by one Sr. Washington correspondent during the initial stages of the Iraq war commented , "The most dangerous place you can be is not Mosul, it's between Chuck Schumar and a microphone."
