This is not a political blog nor do I normally voice my opinion on political matters to anyone other than family and friends but I am feeling so frustrated at the moment I had to get it off my chest.  I am incensed at the lies our politicians tell and the fact that they think they can get away with it.

I was able to vote for the first time in the 2008 election after becoming a US citizen in 2007.  It was an exciting time and I listened carefully to what the candidates had to say as I am not affiliated to any specific party.  All the candidates were promising “change” in one shape or form and I was particularly interested in those who promised to get rid of earmarks.  Earmarks or pork are not something that I was familiar with coming from the UK.

Everything was going great until the financial crisis hit in September 2008.  That turned everything on it’s head and then first of all President Bush and then the two candidates were promising to fix it for us.

Well here we are in March 2009 and it’s business as usual with big government, no perceived end to the amount of our money they are spending and nobody seems to have a clue how to sort it out. What happened to all the promises that were made not just in 2008 but also in 2006 when the House elections took place?  If I’m not mistaken we were promised the end of “sleaze”, more openness and transparency and an end to pet projects.  So far I haven’t seen anything to make me think things have changed. In fact just the opposite as there is as much sleaze and dishonesty in the present Congress as there has been in previous ones.  I’m reminded of the old joke “How do you know when a politician is lying? Answer:When his lips are moving”.

Barack Obama promised that his would be the most open, transparent Presidency ever and that everybody would have a chance to study any bills before he signed them onto the Statute but we are still waiting for that to happen.  Then there was the assertion that there would be no Lobbyists in the Cabinet but that’s another promise broken.  Then there was the promise that he would go through bills line by line and veto any earmarks whoops another promise broken.  In fact every week more promises are broken.  Then there are the Senators and Representatives of both parties who have said they wouldn’t vote for all these high spending bills that are being put forward but guess what they change their mind.

I am not naive enough to think that politicians don’t break their promises or downright lie but I am obviously naive in thinking that the man at the top should have more integrity and stick to his word.  I don’t know how these politicians sleep at night.  Do they have no conscience or do they think they can get away with anything because they are superior to everyone else?  I, and I’m sure the majority of people, were brought up to tell the truth because lies would always be found out and then the punishment would be harsher.  The majority of our politicians don’t even have the grace or morals to own up and apologize when they have been found out in a lie.  Obviously they don’t think the people will punish them and so far that seems to be the case going back to Bill Clinton when he told his bare-faced lies.

You may think I am just criticizing my adopted country and this administration but that is not the case.  The same accusations can be laid at the door of the British Government and I would suggest every other government in the world. It certainly seems to be the case that “power corrupts” and unfortunately where government is concerned it is us the people who suffer.

We need to reassert our moral principles and let the government know that we expect them to adhere to that moral code that made America great. It will be interesting to see whether in the future we can find some honest politicians who really are willing to stand up to their convictions.