True leaders follow their own convictions

This country is in the midst of a financial crisis the likes of which have not been seen since the Great Depression. This whole episode has had the unintended consequence of exposing a lack of leadership in Washington that is incredibly appalling.

We like to think that if enough of us were to call or e-mail our representatives we would be able to influence how they would vote on particular issues. But that is not how the system is supposed to work, despite what we might hear from talk radio and other political pundits.

If the system were intended to work in that fashion, we could just take polls and make decisions based on which way the current wind blows. This country was founded on the principle of a representative form of government.

The Founding Fathers, in their infinite wisdom, realized that a direct democracy, no matter how desirable, was impracticable in a country of this size. That is one of the main reasons they chose a representative form of government.

We elect our representatives to go to Washington and make the tough decisions they believe are in the best interest of the country. Making those decisions, despite the fact it might cost them an election, is called leadership.