If the little internal dialogue wasn't making a good case, resisting temptation wouldn't be all that big a deal, would it?

My dad told me that real character is what you do when nobody is looking. He didn't make that up, but he's the first person I heard it from.

I also learned that in this constant effort, the little things count as much as the big ones.

A lot of people out there will defend politicians like this, saying this kind of thing doesn't affect how they do their job. That's bullshit. A man or woman who will screw over his family and then stand there and smoothly lie to your face about it will do the same things when it comes to anything else.

The example I used years ago: if you saw your bank president sneak a candy bar into his pocket at the 7-11, would you keep your money in his bank? I wouldn't.

I'm not sure "favoring policies that benefit you" falls into the same category of real dishonesty until you start illegitimately "bending" things to make things come out your way.

Believe me, lawyers and mercenaries have huge buckets of self-interest, and also favor situations that benefit them. As one example, our country is largely run by lawyers. How's that working? :)