Mood:  incredulous

Unmitigated gall.

I don't know how else to describe the actions by Alaska Senator (R) Ted Stevens and Massachusetts State Senator (D) Dianne Wilkerson. Stevens was found guilty on all seven counts of trying to hide gifts and home renovations of more than $250,000, and has neither resigned nor withdrawn from the Senate race in Alaska. Wilkerson was just indicted on charges that she accepted nearly $25,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents. She, like Stevens, is vowing to stay in the race for her seat - despite having lost the primary election, she's waging a sticker campaign. 

Stevens was found guilty, but will appeal. Wilkerson is innocent until proven guilty; however, the photos of her stuffing $100 bills into her bra leave precious little doubt as to her guilt.

Breaching the public's trust is nothing new for politicians. It's been going on since the time of the first rulers. But the brazen lack of respect for their constituency displayed by Stevens and Wilkerson goes beyond the pale. How can either look in the mirror and honestly say, "Yes, I'm upholding the the values my elected position, and I'm looking out for those whom I represnt."?

It's one thing if you're a for-profit bank exec trying to maximize your company's profits, not to mention your own bonus. Misguided, criminal, deplorable - absolutely. And I hope the lot of them end up behind bars. Stevens and Wilkerson are worse, in my humble opinion, because they were elected to serve the people, not line their own pockets. Naive thinking on my part, perhaps, but I'd like to believe that those who are elected remember why they've been elected. 

Oh, and, yes, I do believe that we should bring back the stock and pillory for cases such as these.