After spending 3 months in Washington, D.C., covering Congress for the Lewiston Tribune, columnist William L. Spence can't stand the place and is pessimistic about the future:

Clearly, this is not my town. I've been here since April and literally haven't found a single thing I like about it.

OK, there's some decent architecture. And a few good museums. And the monuments.

But Congress? Seriously, that place is a wreck - and its members seem as incapable of cleaning up the mess as my roommates. This is supposed to be the pinnacle of American politics, but I've seen Boy Scout troops handle things more effectively. After a hearing the other week, a college girl behind me said, "Man, I though our student government was screwed up."

How embarrassing is that? Where are the great statesmen? The "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" idealism, the fight-the-good-fight convictions? Where's that "best government on Earth" I've always heard about?

I haven't seen it. I've seen dysfunction unlike anything I ever imagined, schoolyard name-calling, a pervasive sense of entitlement and excuses galore. Rather than an uplifting experience, being here has diminished my hope for the future. More here.