Analysis: Poster Boys for Bad Politics

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz departs his home in Chevy Chase, Md., Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Wolfowitz, who is accused by a special bank panel of breaking conflict-of-interest rules, maintains that he acted in good faith in arranging a generous pay package for his girlfriend. He waged a vigorous fight to keep running the institution, defending himself before the board in an appearance late Tuesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite - AP)

WASHINGTON -- Alberto Gonzales and Paul Wolfowitz could be poster boys for what's wrong with politics today _ cronyism, incompetence and a brazen lack of accountability that has voters craving change.

Gonzales is the Texas pal of President Bush who led the Justice Department into political and legal trouble, then blamed subordinates and a bad memory. Wolfowitz is the unyielding conservative who underestimated the difficulty of bringing Iraq to heel, and was rewarded with a job at the World Bank that he quickly jeopardized with an ethical lapse.

Their heads may finally roll, but the public wants more than the dismissal of two failed leaders. People want an entirely new brand of leadership in Washington _ and they currently don't see it in either major party.

"Does anybody run anything any more? Does anybody hold anybody accountable for anything?" asked Republican consultant Joe Gaylord. He is one of a growing number of Democratic and Republican officials in Washington worried about the health of their parties because of a bipartisan failure of leadership. "It's a mystery to me as to why someone hasn't come down with a two-by-four and said, 'Get this crap fixed.'"

Gaylord advises former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who may seek the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. Democrats have their own problems, including leading presidential candidates who seem to be pandering on Iraq, and House Democrats who are breaking election-year promises on lobbying reform.

"People want really dramatic change from the current way politics works _ the money, the lobbying and the whole thing," said Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, who advises presidential candidate John Edwards. "The Democratic Party has to lead. For us to benefit, we've got to lead the way on change _ the different way to do things."

The public's faith in government has been declining for years, and took a steep dive in the summer of 2005 when state, local and federal leaders responded poorly to Hurricane Katrina. The Gulf Coast's slow recovery affirms the public's distrust of government.

An AP-Ipsos poll this month found that only 35 percent of the public approves of how the Democratic-led Congress is handling its job, the same anemic rating given to President Bush. Exit polls after last November's elections showed that while almost six in 10 voters disapproved of the Iraq war, even more _ 74 percent _ said government corruption and scandals were important to their votes.

"Washington is broken," Mitt Romney said Tuesday night, one of the many anti-Washington voices raised at the second Republican presidential debate.

And that brings us back to Gonzales and Wolfowitz.

Under Gonzales, the FBI broke the law to secretly acquire personal data on Americans and the Justice Department abruptly fired several U.S. attorneys. The latter act, while legal, raised questions about whether the White House tried to use the nation's law enforcement arm to cause legal problems for Democratic politicians.

Four senior Justice Department officials have resigned, and Gonzales has publicly made scapegoats of two of them for the firings. His congressional testimony on the matter was a marathon of dodged answers, foggy memories and blame-shifting that prompted some Republicans to join Democrats in calling for his dismissal.