“Let me be as clear as possible.  I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people’s families are off-limits, and people’s children are especially off-limits.  This shouldn’t be part of our politics.”  That’s what Senator Barack Obama said to a group of reporters when asked for his reaction to the news that the 17-year-old, unmarried daughter of vice-presidential candidate...

On the last night of the Democratic convention, before Senator Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech as the Party’s nominee for president, I saw something that I have never before seen in a political ad. Senator John McCain looks into the camera and congratulates his opponent, Senator Obama, on his achievements.  In thirty seconds I couldn’t help but be touched by...

As promised, Jennifer, a congressional staffer who’s helped me navigate the Denver convention, came through with tickets for the big Kanye West concert. “Is everybody ready to PARTY?” she shouts. “YESSSS!” we all cheer. Suddenly, Jennifer’s BlackBerry rings.  “I have to take this.  Uh-huh, uh-huh… uh-oh!”  She turns to the crowd.  “We can’t go.” “WHAT?” everyone shouts in unison.  » Read more...

The Olympics is always celebrated with a great deal of pageantry, nationalism and achievement. For all its talk of “sporting excellence,” the media tends to distill everything down to the medal count.  (The New York Times’ Olympics 2008 website carries an updated count by country at the top of its page.) In one of the first events held Saturday in...

If I had the opportunity to speak to Congress on the importance of trust, it might sound something like this – The first time I became aware of political leadership it was 1961. Our 7th grade homeroom teacher wheeled in a big television set so that the entire class could watch the inauguration of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. We all sat...

Whom can we trust? Who has the credibility to lead? These are just two of the critical questions Charles Lewis, founder of The Center for Public Integrity has raised in his investigative examinations into the inextricable link between Congress and special interests.  And yet, there are examples of leaders who do it right.  In his 1998 book, The Buying of the...

The 2007 “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act” was passed in response to a laundry list of scandals involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.  The new law outlines tougher standards for lobbyists in an effort to stop the flow of undue influence in Congress. That’s a good thing. There’s just one tiny flaw. “…former Senator John Breaux, Democrat of Louisiana, said lobbyists [have]...

The Washington Post reported (July 23) that the Government Accountability Office found that supervisors at the Pentagon pressured internal auditors “…to skew their reports on a major defense contractor’s work, hiding wrongdoing and charges of overbilling.” Of course, whenever we hear another story detailing fraud and corruption in Washington it serves to strengthen the argument that everyone in Washington is corrupt.  And...

In 2002 Time magazine selected three women of “ordinary demeanor,” and extraordinary personal integrity to become the magazine’s Persons of the Year. Cynthia Cooper was the internal auditor who exposed what has grown to $11 billion in fraud at WorldCom.  Coleen Rowley was the FBI attorney who wrote a memo to Director Robert Mueller “about how the bureau brushed off...

John Wayne famously said that “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.” Time magazine’s current (July 21) cover story offers lessons in leadership by South African leader Nelson Mandela.  Managing editor Richard Stengel tells a story that illustrates one characteristic that distinguishes Mandela, the leader. “In 1994, during the presidential election campaign, Mandela got on a tiny...