Congressional Check Bouncers

The bank scandal makes me angry, but not because of what the congressmen did. If it didn’t cost the taxpayers any money, why should I care? I’m angry because it clouds the real issue about what’s wrong with Congress. The big problem is that our elected officials don’t serve the interests of the taxpayers; they serve the people who finance their campaigns--insurance companies, the tobacco lobby, the defense contractors and hundreds of others. This is a much bigger problem, one which affects the White House as much as Congress.

But the bank scandal lets George Bush off the hook, and plays into his corrupt hands in his various battles with Congress. This bogus scandal is distracting voters from far more important issues.

MIGUEL MUNOZ, Pasadena