The political system in America seems to be more flawed than meets the eye. Under the false pretense of the greatest democracy in the world, our current government finds itself riddled with scandals and corruptions that cannot be wiped clean.

In the midst of several scandals involving high profile figures in Washington, how can the American people trust their own government again?

When the name of covert CIA operative Valarie Plame was leaked to journalist Robert Novak, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan promised that Bush would fire anyone found to have had a role in the leak. But when Bush’s senior political advisor Karl Rove was found to have a part in it, Bush refused to stand by his word and kept Rove in his administration.

And we are supposed to trust this President? According to a November ABC News poll, only 40 percent of Americans consider Bush “honest and trustworthy,” and the indictment of former Chief of Staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby for the Plame leak probably did nothing to help his case.

Even after the Libby disaster, other problems in the White House emerged. Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist in Washington, pleaded guilty on Jan. 3 for three criminal felony counts relating to the defrauding of Native American casinos. He then donated $100,000 to the Bush campaign, money that was most likely obtained fraudulently. With such a tight election, it is possible that the $100,000 may have made the difference between victory and defeat for George Bush.

This scandal has brought hundreds of Congressional employees under scrutiny, including the President. Yet even after this, the White House is not taking a firm stance against extreme lobbying, and has yet to pay back the bulk of the money.

It is hardly fair to blame the President for all of these troubling issues—it is possible, but improbable, that he was in no way linked to any of these criminal activities. This would not be the fi rst time the President threw up his hands and played the fool—this would just be the first time that he did it intentionally.

Yet the fact that these corrupt politicians refuse to stand up and admit their own mistakes—with the exception of Republican California Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who tearfully admitted to taking bribes as he resigned his post—shows a huge weakness in the U.S. government.

Politicians have dug themselves into a hole that will be immensely difficult to climb out of, but they continue to dig deeper by cheating and lying again and again.

Republicans, the party most hard hit by the corruption scandals, will certainly face the consequences in the 2006 midterm elections. While surprising to only a few, these shameful corruption charges just help to take the saying “never trust a politician” to a whole new level.