The 19th Century English politician, political philosopher and historian, Lord Acton, said famously that power tends to corrupt and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. While we should take Lord Acton at his word – there is overwhelming evidence going back centuries to show how right he was – we should take his admonition back a step and assume that, while the power itself may corrupt, we the people have no way of being sure of a politician’s character until after he or she has assumed the power we the voters have given him.
