Corruption and American Politics By Michael A. Genovese and Vict ...

and always to be checked. But for Hamilton ambition could cut in many directions:

The point about fame might seem utterly out-of-date in a celebrity-besotted society like our own, but in fact it forces us to examine the reasons why we back the political figures we do. It is hardly because those leaders seek “the approbation of the wise”—that, after all, would be elitist! And it is not because they are really all that good-looking: Jay Leno had it pretty much right when he observed that “politics is just show business for ugly people.” Rather, most people's connections to top figures in politics are fundamentally emotional or affective: would I enjoy having a beer with X, and does Y seem empathetic?

Thus we make it hard for anyone to win power or to use it. We accord those in positions of responsibility very little lasting trust, and try to insulate such government as is minimally necessary from the self-interested pulling and tugging of politics. If real leadership emerges from such a process it is more or less by accident, and when things go wrong, as they inevitably will, our reform response is in effect to demand democracy without politics.

Reforms without Redemption

The view of American political culture outlined above cannot account for detailed outcomes in the realm of corruption and reform. It may, however, help us understand why this nation of reformers so often ends