by Christopher L. Tyner

About the author: Christopher L. Tyner is a former managing editor for Ethics: Easier Said Than Done, a quarterly publication of the Josephson Institute of Ethics in Marina del Rey, California.

In recent years, a seemingly endless parade of political scandals involving reports of such matters as corruption, influence peddling, conflicts of interest, drinking, womanizing and adultery combine with the proliferation of ethics laws to create the impression that the moral fiber of American politics and politicians has deteriorated substantially. Ethics: Easier Said Than Done [ESTD] decided to consult former politicians, journalists, academics, and ethicists to shed some light on the current state of political ethics. After providing historical context, the consensus was that things are certainly not worse and that, in many ways, they are a good deal better. Still, there seemed...