Remember when government was "for the people?"

David Broder nails it in the WaPo this morning with an op-ed on what ails our Congress.

The decline of oversight hearings on Capitol Hill reflects what many of the commentators called a loss of institutional pride in Congress. Majority Republicans see themselves first and foremost as members of the Bush team -- and do not want to make trouble by asking hard questions. Democrats find it more rewarding to raise campaign funds and cultivate their own constituencies.

The result is that a system of government in which Congress was supposed to be "the first branch" is -- as this week once again has demonstrated -- one in which the lawmakers are thoroughly overshadowed by the magnified figure of the president.

Indeed. It seems the sole preoccupation of the Beltway crowd is the eternal campaign. Even here it's all about process and the accumulation of political power. With an eye on future employment on K Street, no one wants to piss anyone else off. The concept of the common good has all but vanished from the national lexicon.