Absolute Power

By Clive Crook The works of Edmund Burke, an 18th-century British politician and political writer, are no longer as widely read as they should be. Here's hoping a fine new biography by Jesse Norman, an academic philosopher and a Conservative member of Parliament, will help put that right. As Norman explains in Edmund Burke: The First Conservative , his subject was not just an engaging man and an unusually deep thinker for his time. He also has good answers to questions that politics still poses 21/2 centuries later.

It is easy to understand why some of our politicians criticize the news media for attacking President Reagan and his stooges. They want the press to lay off so that the whole mess will blow over and the public will forget what happened. This is what television commentator David M. Brinkley said a few years ago: "When politicians and the press are quarreling with each other, that is their natural state. That is what they ought to do. And it is in the best interests of the American people.

In 1971, Henry Kissinger said: "Power is the great aphrodisiac. " Two years later, he pumped it up: "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. " Since David first set eyes on Bathsheba, powerful men have been doing foolish sexual things in a sybaritic salsa across the world's pages. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger admits to having a child, by housekeeper Mildred Baena, threatening his marriage. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned Wednesday as head of the International Monetary Fund, is indicted on charges of sexual assault and attempted rape.

Not only is The Winner the title of David Baldacci's newest book, it also happens to be a perfect description of Baldacci himself. Over the last few years, he's not only had his first novel published but his second and third as well. And, they have all been winners. Big winners. In 1994, he sold Absolute Power, his first novel - and the first manuscript he ever actually finished - to Warner Books for $2 million one day and to Hollywood for $1 million the next day. Soon thereafter, Baldacci quit his job as a corporate and trial lawyer in Washington to devote himself full time to his writing.

Betcha didn't know that the script for Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the 1988 comedy about goings-on in Toontown, was an almost scene-for-scene steal from Chinatown, Roman Polanski's classic 1974 thriller about the corruption of Lalaland? Chinatown, one of the great detective films of all time, stars Jack Nicholson as a private eye on a missing-person search. What begins as a hunt for a certain person ends as a positive ID on the city of Los Angeles, a house of cards built on the fault line of land speculation and water rights.

Far be it from me to question the wisdom of Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in condemning the 22d Amendment to the Constitution, which restricts presidents to two four-year terms. However, I feel that Mr. Schlesinger has overlooked one important aspect of the matter, namely the need to prevent any president from accumulating too much power. It is still true that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. " This goes for popes and bishops, presidents and governors, and anyone who is entrusted with power.

Kevin R. Johnson is the senior pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church The Philadelphia community and its children are once again the casualties of political war. The report to Mayor Nutter on the selection of a charter operator for Martin Luther King High School released last month unveiled another tragic story of discord and power plays among the city's leaders and politicians. As a pastor and father, I am grieved by the political infighting. Sadly, buried under this mountain of political debris are our children's futures.

In Guimba, the Tyrant, a ruler holds absolute power over a small town in Mali and demonstrates yet again that such authority corrupts absolutely. But the masterly touch in Cheick Oumar Sissoko's film is that the tyrant is undone by his own lack of self-control. Guimba wields the power of life and death from a throne to which he rose by being more brutal than any other contender. It is his firm belief that mercy is a sign of weakness that enemies inside and outside his domain will exploit.

By Clive Crook The works of Edmund Burke, an 18th-century British politician and political writer, are no longer as widely read as they should be. Here's hoping a fine new biography by Jesse Norman, an academic philosopher and a Conservative member of Parliament, will help put that right. As Norman explains in Edmund Burke: The First Conservative , his subject was not just an engaging man and an unusually deep thinker for his time. He also has good answers to questions that politics still poses 21/2 centuries later.

WHEN I WAS IN my early teens and working at a Maine amusement park, a friendly man came around frequently, painting this magnificent picture of mountain-climbing and outdoor camping and adventure. He would take me on such an excursion, he said, and I remember asking my parents if I could go, and I remember they said yes, as long as they could meet the guy. I told the guy this and he said that would be no problem, but days dragged on with no meeting and soon the big weekend was upon us and he was pushing for me to go. I would like to tell you my parents forbade me to go, but what I remember is I kind of forbade myself.

WE KNOW that absolute power corrupts absolutely. But could it also corrupt Matt, Drew and Steve? This is the question posed by "Chronicle," a smarter-than-average sci-fi movie about three high school boys whose contact with a mysterious object gives them telekinetic powers. At first, power is not much of a priority. The savvy script by Max (son of John) Landis understands the male teen brain - we see them goofing around, making videos, concocting pranks, thrill-seeking, and of course, using their abilities to get girls.

Kevin R. Johnson is the senior pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church The Philadelphia community and its children are once again the casualties of political war. The report to Mayor Nutter on the selection of a charter operator for Martin Luther King High School released last month unveiled another tragic story of discord and power plays among the city's leaders and politicians. As a pastor and father, I am grieved by the political infighting. Sadly, buried under this mountain of political debris are our children's futures.

In 1971, Henry Kissinger said: "Power is the great aphrodisiac. " Two years later, he pumped it up: "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. " Since David first set eyes on Bathsheba, powerful men have been doing foolish sexual things in a sybaritic salsa across the world's pages. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger admits to having a child, by housekeeper Mildred Baena, threatening his marriage. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned Wednesday as head of the International Monetary Fund, is indicted on charges of sexual assault and attempted rape.

IWAS taken aback when Gov. Rendell referred to Republicans as "fruitloops" and other non-flattering terms. Perhaps he's never heard the saying about people in glass houses. Since Rendell became governor in '03, unemployment in the state has risen steadily. Pennsylvania is no longer a receptive state for business - and businesses are leaving Pennsylvania because of the policies that Rendell has imposed. Under Rendell, seven out of eight state budgets were delivered late. Instead of attacking Republicans, Rendell should take a look at his own "fruitloop" policies and his own "fruitloop" party, and see where Pennsylvania is today because of their actions.

If money is power, and power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and money is the root of all evil, then Alex Gibney's documentary about the superlobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff illustrates these cautionary koans with alarming, and damning, detail. A twisting tale of ambition, greed and hypocrisy, of moral lassitude and bold-faced chicanery, Casino Jack and the United States of Money focuses on the chameleonlike Abramoff, a charismatic mover and shaker who shook down American Indian tribes, Asian clothing factory owners and members of Congress, pocketing millions in the process.

In "Jumper," the fantasy of teleportation grows stronger by the moment - after just a few scenes, you want to be somewhere else. This fantasy/adventure hybrid from Doug Liman (the first "Bourne") is about a young man named David (Hayden Christian- sen) who discovers he can teleport to any location just by wishing he were there. He uses this skill to get money, clothes and material things, becoming the sort of well-heeled international man of mystery who can pick up girls with ease.

Both men are larger-than-life figures in elected office for nearly 30 years. Both bring home the pork in prodigious barrels, ensuring local popularity. Both wield tremendous clout as powerful state senators in charge of appropriations. And both, after years of imperial leadership - tinged with hubris, critics say - may have blurred the line between public service and private agendas. Pennsylvania has Democrat Vincent J. Fumo, 63, under federal indictment for financial fraud.