Politicians vs. America

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like politics has taken precedence over the good of the country. As I watch the political posturing and back biting take place I have to ask myself, “How much of this do these people actually believe and how much are they doing to ‘win the game’?”
 
The politicians in this country all seem to have read Machiavelli and taken it to heart. The ends justify the means and the “ends” for politicians is winning and staying in power. Staying in Washington, or Raleigh, or Des Moines, or Sacramento, or where ever the seat of power is for that level.
 
And power has to be the final motivator. It’s not the money. The top job in the country only pays about $400,000 per year. What other explanation could there be for people spending hundreds of millions of dollars for a job that pays $400k?
 
Now I’ve never been rich or powerful so I can’t possibly explain the allure of either, but I can only assume it’s more powerful than a drug addiction. My only experience in that area is a current addiction to caffeine and a past addiction to nicotine. I can say without fear of contradiction that the drive for nicotine was a subtle but ever present one. One that had to be fed until I finally would not let it rule me any longer. I don’t know that you can go cold turkey on power, at least on your own.
 
By my outsider’s observations, it appears that politicians drive for power is all consuming. They will do anything, say anything to anybody to get it and to hold it. There seems to be some un-holy thrill associated with wielding power over others. This thrill seems to be shared equally by both the right and the left. These power addicts will sell out their morals and principals at the drop of a hat in order to maintain their power fix.
 
Case in point; Heath Schuler, Democrat from NC was reportedly not in favor of ObamaCare, yet, when pressured by Nancy Pelosi and undoubtedly offered some incentives, he voted for it. Now, he is up for re-election and he is distancing himself from his own vote on health care and Pelosi. Going so far as to say he may even run for Speaker of the House himself if the Democrats retain the majority.
 
What is one to believe when their representatives act in such a way? Clearly they are more interested in themselves and the power they can use over the rest of us then they are about what’s good for America.
 
This country needs people in government who don’t really want to be there. People who would rather be doing something else, but feel it’s their duty to serve the country for a limited period of time. Folks who are interested in, as John Kennedy so famously put it, what their country can do for them but for what they can do for their country.
 
For the good of the country, the professional politicians, both right and left, need to go!