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Overview
The two decades since the Watergate scandal have seen an unprecedented focus on ethics in government. The public integrity scandals of the Clinton administration have, once again, focused national attention on ethics in Washington. This work addresses this very topical subject and the authors come to some unusual conclusions. Tracing the origins of the modern public integrity war back to the very birth of the nation, the authors explain how conservatives and progressives have used allegations of unethical conduct in an effort to persuade the American public to accept their respective visions for American society. A cynical public, anesthetized to the distinction between actual wrongdoing and partisan attack, follows ideology and self-interest rather than character, allowing politicians to get away with even the most egregious conduct.
Synopsis
This work shows how two armed camps have waged warfare for America's soul from the early days of the republic to the present, and how they have used the institutes of public integrity to destroy foes rather than promote ethics.
Booknews
Scholars of political science and law at James Madison University argue that the 20-year battle over the integrity of US public officials is not being generated by a concern for clean government, but by an ideological clash over the role of government in modern society. Caught between movement conservatives trying to dismantle the administrative state and new progressives struggling to preserve the government's responsibility for a vast array of problems facing the country, they say neither the media nor the public can distinguish between legitimate ethical problems and self-serving accusations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.