They get the power, and then the only real difference is who's hauling in the bribes and swinging that power around.

At some point somebody has to stop asking the question "Who's going to be in the drivers seat for the whole country" and start asking "WHY is there a drivers seat for the whole country?"

We started out with a multi-tiered system of government, with most of the things that affected us decided at local levels, and the top levels doing just a few important things. When did Washington DC get to the point where they could claim the right to command everything from what light bulb to use up to your entire health care system?

The people who might do a decent job in politics wouldn't touch politics with a ten foot pole. The system eagerly enlists those who think the planet couldn't rotate unless they had power.