Schieffer: Money Smothers

During the campaign finance reform debate, Senator John McCain told the Senate money had corrupted the whole political process and several of his colleagues took great umbrage.

How, they said, can you call a system corrupt if you can't name the individuals who have been corrupted? I've concluded their indignation was sincere and to me, that's the worst part.

Money has smothered politics to the point that the closer you are to it, the harder it is to see the changes it has wrought.

Here's an example: When I did a story a couple of weeks ago about the Insurance industry throwing a one thousand dollar a plate breakfast for House Speaker Dennis Hastert on the very day the House was beginning debate on HMO reform, lobbyists and congressional aides kept asking me, "Why are you making such a big deal of this? It happens all the time."

Well, yes, I thought. Isn't that the point? But I understood their question. After all, the way the lobby throws around money, a thousand bucks isn't much to them...or the politicians who collect it.

To the insiders it's routine. But take a step back, and even a child might ask, "Why would anyone pay a thousand dollars to have breakfast with a politician if they didn't want something?" The bacon and eggs on Capitol Hill just aren't that good.

That's the serious part: The situation has become so bad, those involved no longer understand what it's done to them.

It's like fish in water. It's such a part of their lives, they may be the only creatures who don't know they're wet. But the rest of us do.

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