All the brouhaha about lobbyists was stuck in my mind as I watched "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" tonight. While the filibuster scene is the most famous, I find this bit by Claude Rains, playing Senator Paine, Jefferson Smith's mentor, the most interesting:

Listen, Jeff--you--you don't understand these things--you mustn't condemn me for my part in this without--you've had no experience--you see things as black or white--and a man as angel or devil. That's the young idealist in you. And that isn't how the world runs, Jeff--certainly not Government and politics. It's a question of give and take--you have to play the rules--compromise--you have to leave your ideals outside the door, with your rubbers. I feel I'm the right man for the Senate. And there are certain powers- influence. To stay there, I must respect them. And now and then--for the sake of that power--a dam has to be built--and one must shut his eyes. It's--it's a small compromise. The best men have had to make them. Do`you understand? . . . [MORE]