Voters do care about the personal conduct of their individual members, but the level of that concern rises with the unemployment numbers. No one wants their elected officials to be caught up in these scandals, but it is more egregious when jobs are lost, homes are foreclosed on, and (just like pre-WWII) college is becoming something that only the most affluent will be able to afford.
I have seen many commentators mention the salary of House members while covering this story. This number is tattooing itself into the mind of voters. While college educated citizens are fighting for minimum wage jobs, a congressman making more than $170,000, with a staff in Washington and in his district doing the heavy lifting of governing, has time to fool around on a computer like a teenager.
To the members of Congress who want to keep this up, those of us out here hunting for work will save a copy of the want ads for you ... because you, too, will soon be a college-educated person looking for work.
