Ebay Auction...

I found this eBay auction to be hilarious political commentary.

I really don't have much to say about the scandal regarding the Illinois Senate seat.  The Governor was a crook and he got nabbed.  Kudos to those, reportedly individuals within the Obama transition team, who reported this to the FBI.

I do wish Fox news and other conservatives would stay off President-elect Obama on this issue. If the man makes a mistake, we should rightfully point that out (ahem! Auto Bailout), but if he does a good job by confronting corruption, we should applaud that.  

Not to mention, it just makes Republicans appear more "zealotish" than usual.

Some might suggest that this is a sign that we live in a nation still subject to corruption. I don't doubt that this is true.  Corruption certainly happens on various levels, all the time.  As long as people are people they will attempt to achieve power through less-than-scrupulous practices. 

However, though scandals are reported with dismay by all (how could such a thing ever happen?), I think they reflect the better side of our governance. Given the certain nature of corruption, in a sense, the occasional corruption centered scandal is better than no scandal at all.

A fundamental question then should be, how can we ensure that ALL - as opposed to some - scandals are reported? Transparency is an obvious solution.  The more information that is available the harder it will be to hide practices that are abhorrent to the majority of Americans.  The difficulty is that transparency has its costs. Like it or not, the majority of us are not perfect and that creates possibilities for real embarrassment, which people try to generally avoid.  Too much transparency and you may deter the best of the best from entering public service. People who desire privacy and are skilled enough to find work elsewhere, will do so. Too little transparency and the only people you will have in office will be named "Vinnie" with close ties to Sicily and a great appreciation for fine Italian food.

Obviously these are the extremes, but a balance needs to be struck.  Are there really all that many talented individuals who would frown upon a window into their working lives? (In short, how elastic is the demand?)  If not, ideas like transparent finances, schedules and communications for public officials don't seem like a bad ideas. 

Additionally, would such transparency unreasonably burden the work of individuals in government?  If everyone is watching what you say, you may not be free to say what you're really thinking.  Working under high pressure in a fish-bowl can have terrible consequences. Are we really willing to trade an effective government for an honest one?

These are simply some of the questions at the fringe of the issue.  Anybody have thoughts?