Burned

Can one be a reformer or crusader in the USA? Is it really possible to "work for the people" and the public interest?

Perhaps.

But when "change" begins to curtail profitable operations by the mighty & the powerful, they fight back. They may have billions of dollars (oops - post bailout: hundreds of billions) in wealth to throw at their critics. So no surprise when the forces of change choose very carefully among many sacks of shit, which ones to clean up.

Even then, the crusader is liable to be burned.

The public is hungry for scandal. A mob mentality is stoked by smarmy weasels such as Billow (Bill O'Reilly), Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and a nest of others. Their vile & polarizing attack approach is popular: akin to pro-wrestling and a substitute for as yet untelevised public executions.

The mob enjoys watching those with hubris get their comeuppance. So a quick goodbye to "evildoers" such as former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, former Senator John Edwards, and a host of others due to sexual fiendishness. (Digression: We wonder how the family values crowd reconciles the adulteries & callousness of Sen. John McCain and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Is foregiveness and reconciliation only for Republicans?... )

Anyhow, the moral takedown may appease the mob for awhile, but who benefits? (In the case of Spitzer, perhaps AIG?) Whose territory is once again open for plundering? That entitled elite seeks darkness. Only systematic and sustained transparency can root-out such problems. Shining a spotlight cannot be enough: the person holding it is a target, and the roaches escape. We need to turn-up all the house lights to systematically root-out the worst social infections.