I don’t pretend to be a man of the people. But I do try to be a man for the people. — Gladiator

In a lot of western-style democracies, there seems to be a trend for politicians to not come off as patricians.  There is a cultural myth that any foundling from the streets can rise up to be President or Prime Minister.  While that may be technically true, and it does happen on very rare occasions, such as with President Clinton, those who have power were usually born into it, or at least close to it.  I’m not saying that the children of the rich or even upper middle class shouldn’t have the same shot as the child of the poor or lower middle-class.  What I am saying is that it seems to be a reality that the children of the more well off tend to have a better chance due to where they start.

Assuming that no legal roadblocks to the ascension of someone from the lower socio-economic ranks to power exist, is this a bad thing?  So long as those who either hold the reins of power or want to grasp them listen to the will of the citizenry, does it matter if they come from the projects or the mansion?  What matters to me is that I know what their positions are, that they hold those positions unless shown good contradictory evidence, and that they can honestly articulate them to me.

I guess that’s why I put together those questionnaires the other day.  It occurs to me that even when trying to educate myself about the candidates for Congress this year, I’m running into clouds of rhetoric when I want mountains of information.  I’ll accept someone who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth if she tells me where she stands and I feel that I can trust her to not steal or cheat, at least not too much.  I may disagree with her, and I may oppose her, but I can respect her, if only she is honest and at least trying to do what her constituency wants.