Conventional wisdom among the population is that money can buy almost anything in Washington, D.C. - influence, power, votes. Recent events, like the allegations that people raising money for the Democrats have connections with the Chinese - just seem to reinforce the concept that people don't really matter to their government officials, that without money there is no way to have a voice in government. And the elected officials seem more concerned with passing the buck than admitting there might be a problem. When Clinton was accused of bringing major contributors to the White House for parties, his supporters countered the allegations by saying that Bush did the same thing, too. Politics as usual doesn't seem like an adequate excuse here.
Someone needs to take the first step, make the first move toward campaign finance reform.
Previous attempts by legislators to bring about campaign finance reform have failed. Clinton promised to make reform a priority for his second term, and now all people can do is sit around and wait for him to make good on his promise. Figuring out where the fault lies in Washington is not going to help foster feelings of governmental goodwill. As cynical as the American people are, this mind set could only get worse as it takes politicians longer to get serious about reform. Clinton and his contemporaries should not make their constituents wait much longer.