Well, that's really the thing. When we elect someone we're not just electing the person we see campaigning, we're also electing the person's party, contributors, organization, influences, professional background, family, religious background and any odd tics the person may have. Often, elected officials aren't really as free as they seem to craft new policies.

A huge perecentage of any local, state or federal budget is mostly untouchable by current office holders. In many cases debt service is a very large portion, then there are legal requirements for allocating much of the expected revenue.

If each of us works to understand and affect the policies of a political party and then works and votes to install elected officials who are committed to the goals of that party, we'll have a better chance of changing government than by selecting "the best man" from campaign speeches.

      - Mark