Our national media normally lick the government's shoes. As usual, it is the executive branch, which has far more influence with the media than Congress, and which is far more dangerous to our liberties. We laugh when Senators make fools of themselves on national television. But just once I'd like to see a panel of bureaucrats in the same position. We'd see the Senate hailed as a bastion of relative brilliance and good sense.
Congressmen pass out subsidies when they can, and do what they can to get reelected.
But for all the bumbling, fumbling, and special-interest favoritism, their concerns are mostly parochial. That's the president. Nor can Congress compare to the executive in number of employees, budget, or power. In 1816, the legislature employed 243 people. Today, it employs 40,183.