San Diego has no corner on corruption: "But $2.4 million? That means Cunningham will go down as the most corrupt member of Congress in the history of the institution. That's saying a lot.
It's tempting to look at a scandal like this as being about a flawed individual. But it's also about a flawed system. Those flaws go beyond the obvious, such as the corruptive influence of the rivers of money that flow through Washington, or the startling fact that one member of Congress, sitting on the right committee with the right amount of influence with the right government agency, can steer millions of dollars of taxpayers' money into the coffers of private firms -- firms that might reciprocate by showering a politician with favors such as expensive meals and gifts, resort vacations, unlimited use of a corporate jet or yacht, and so forth. "