In 2006, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues regained
congressional control after campaigning against what she famously called a
Republican "culture of corruption." Her description resonated with voters that
year and again last fall, when frustration with Republicans helped then-Sen.
Barack Obama win the presidency.

Obama won on the promise of cleaner, better government run by Democrats. But a
funny thing happened when the 111th Congress opened this week: The Democratic
clean-up crew arrived splattered in mud.

The mess began a few weeks ago with the pay-for-play charges leveled against
Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whom the FBI says it caught on tape trying to
auction off the Senate seat Obama was vacating. Blagojevich's ties to Obama's
designated White House chief of staff, former Illinois congressman Rahm
Emanuel, have threatened to cast a shadow over Obama's presidency before it
even begins.

The problem has been exacerbated by a high-profile fight between Democratic
leaders and the man Blagojevich nominated for the Senate seat, Roland Burris,
whose attempt to join the Senate was rebuffed when he presented his credentials
on Tuesday.

The taint of infighting and scandals extends well beyond the Chicago Democratic
machine. Obama's nominee for commerce secretary, Democratic Gov. Bill
Richardson of New Mexico, bowed out this week after leaks that a grand jury is
investigating a possible pay-for-play scandal in Richardson's administration.

Accusations of financial impropriety also continue to surface against Rep.
Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., the House Ways and Means Committee chairman being
investigated by the House Ethics Committee. Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd,
chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, continues to dodge questions about
his sweetheart mortgage deal from Countrywide Financial, a company implicated
in the nationwide mortgage collapse. And several other Democratic congressmen
are facing media scrutiny for suspicious financial deals and earmarking
practices.

Although the storyline of a GOP "culture of corruption" received more media
play than Democratic foibles during Bush's tenure, there has been no shortage
of Democratic rising stars embroiled in scandals in recent years. Think New
Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, New York Gov.
Eliot Spitzer, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and cash-stashing Louisiana
Rep. William "the Refrigerator" Jefferson.

Obama has remained oddly quiet in recent weeks about the unfolding scandals in
his party's ranks, despite his tough reformist talk on the campaign trail.
Party leaders who once promised to "drain the swamp" in Washington, including
Pelosi, seem increasingly resigned to let that swamp fester as long as
Democrats are the ones controlling the waters. For voters who believed that
purging Republicans from office would eliminate government waste and
corruption, 2009 may be a year of rude awakenings.

The steady drumbeat of scandalous revelations since Election Day has been
dispiriting, but it may be a blessing in disguise. For a nation gripped by
economic anxiety and desperate to believe that a change in administrations will
prove a panacea for our economic woes, these daily dispatches remind us that
the men and women we entrust with our tax dollars do not deserve blank checks
or blind loyalty. They are flawed, fallible and prone to overspending,
overpromising and misusing their power for selfish gain. They are politicians,
not demigods or Santa Claus.

Given how poorly many of our national political leaders handle the perks and
purse strings they already control, we should think twice before giving them
free rein to exponentially expand government and manage even more of our money.

At a time when a $1 trillion stimulus package barely raises eyebrows inside the
Beltway, it's worth remembering that no political party or leader is immune
from the temptations that accompany absolute power. And no populace is as
vulnerable to granting that absolute power as one racked by fear and seeking a
savior.

Colleen Carroll Campbell is an author, television and radio host and St.
Louis-based fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Her website is
www.colleen-campbell.com.