He was nearly ready to let go, one more time, when the old man leaned forward in his wheelchair, this time yelling urgently at the dog… "SAMMY… Git over here right now before he poops on you!"

Yeah, I know that Grandpa Gus's version utilized more colorful language; nevertheless, there is a surprising bit of wisdom in this water-closet tale. Perhaps it is little more than a vulgarized version of the "King has no clothes" story.

The bottom line, as it relates to our esteemed windbags in Washington, is that more and more of us are watching. Our ability to sniff out the odorous stench of self-delusional finger pointing and deflection, which is continuously oozing from the House and Senate, is causing us to lose respect for those institutions. There is an awful lot of talk about the President's dwindling approval numbers, even from those who are themselves regarded with disdain by the public.

They stomp and holler about irresponsible pork, because they believe it is what fiscal conservatives want to hear. However, even as they speak, they know that if they do not bring home a few pounds of the bacon for their own constituencies, their connection to the beltway power grid will soon be disconnected.

Many of us believe that change is critical in Washington politics. We cannot imagine how certain states re-elect the same scoundrels time after time after time. If we honestly face reality, the problem with Washington politics is not what so-and-so is or is not doing about it; rather, it is what each one of us is not doing about it.

We have all failed this country, because we have allowed the phenomenon of the career politician to thrive. The office of Congressman and Senator was to be a position of duty, carried out by honorable citizens for a brief time. Then that citizen was to return home and live under the consequences of his decisions in office.

This is something that we can fix, and I implore my fellow citizens to recognize the odor for what it is. It is not the dog; rather, it is from the creatures of the beltway, who have entrenched themselves there. They have welded themselves onto the political power grid, and the festering stench is far more offensive than any byproduct of Martha Bergstrom's pork-n-bean casserole.