Politics as a profession is always better when practiced reluctantly.  It is too bad that the precedent of George Washington was not followed after he left office after only eight years.  He loved the republic that he was so instrumental in founding, and he understood implicitly that government was to be of the people and not of rulers.

Not so today.  Last week Ted Kennedy died after about 200 years in the Senate.  Even after his death we are left with 8 senators that have served more than 30 years, and 16 more that have been there for more than 20 years.

In the US House, Michigan, to its embarrassment, has the two longest serving members with a combined 99 years of caviar tasting experience on the public dime.