[quote]This post is destined for 500 replies.[/quote] I hope so. It would be my first thread with anywhere near that many.

[quote]It seems that either government corrupts, or there aren't any good candidates to begin with.[/quote] Usually people blame the figurehead with no real power, but the reason approval ratings are so low for the president is because a few factors such as lack of progress, an absurd amount of propaganda from the opposing side, things not going a citizen/voter's way, etc. Obama isn't an impressive president. He's done some things that are pretty remarkable, but overall, he's pretty much a normal politician in the end. Is he better than Bush Jr? Definitely, by a long shot. However, comparing him to other presidents such as Reagan, Clinton, or FDR, if we were to go that far back? No, definitely not. I'd say that the corruption all stems from Congress: The real holders of government powers. While they only have 2 years to hold office as a "soft requirement", the incumbents usually have a much higher chance to get reelected again rather than their competition. That's why you have congressmen serving longer than the president's two terms, senators that can probably outlast two presidents, and so on. Hell, at this point, I don't see why people vote the incumbents out and replace them with people who actually represent their interests. You'd think that after 10-15 years of the same person not serving the people, but themselves, people would actually realize that their representative doesn't support their interests. It's really a shame that the average person can't serve as a politician. It's all a money game at this point.