Power, in the usual sense of the term, isn't even necessary. Power over yourself is what you possess if you first have: control of your mind; a confidence in the ability of your mind to trust its senses and to abstractly know reality; and a conviction that life is worthwhile and worth living to the fullest.

Nobody with power over him/herself needs or wants power over others. In fact, the notion is appalling. The power to tax? The power to garnish wages? The power to force women to bring pregnancies to term? The power to put undesirable groups into concentration camps? It all springs from the same source.

Anyone with no power over him/herself is, in most cases, a sorry mess. In a few cases, the person with no power over him/herself seeks to acquire this respect for self by controlling others.

Hitler was one example. There have been, and will be, many other examples of varying degrees. The damage each does varies, but the underlying pathology is always the same.

Bear this in mind as you contemplate Election 2008. We have, this year, the worst sort of power-oriented seekers we have seen in a very long time--if ever, in this nation's history.