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Corruption manifests itself in different ways in different countries, and while the United States might not have as big or as direct a problem as developing nations, the public’s perception of government malfeasance can lead to serious problems for the nation’s political system.

That’s according to Michael Johnston, Charles A. Dana Professor of political science at Colgate, who talks about corruption’s impact and about the upcoming presidential election in the latest episode of Colgate Conversations, the podcast series that highlights members of the campus community.

While more subtle in the United States, corruption can lead to an erosion of democratic values and have a real affect on citizenship, said Johnston, whose latest book, Syndromes of Corruption (Cambridge University Press), was published in 2005.

Michael Johnston's book, published in 2005, is called Syndromes of Corruption.

Johnston added that voters seem to have little hope for genuine reform, which can undercut their inclination to vote or participate in the electoral process.

The last major attempt at campaign finance reform, the McCain-Feingold Bill of 2002, did very little to take the money out of politics, but rather made it easier for incumbents to raise funds and stay in power, he said.

Johnston said that since that federal legislation, spending by incumbents has continued to increase while challengers found it harder to raise money and spent less, resulting in a less competitive political system that has added to voters’ disillusionment.

Voters did react to the Jack Abramoff scandal and other issues in November, leading to the major power shift in Congress. Johnston said another contributing factor in the D.C. upheaval was the sense that while incumbents were getting re-elected again and again, they were not doing their due diligence in terms of time actually spent at the Capitol.

The Congress that left office in January spent less time at work in Washington than any other Congress since World War II, he said.

Johnston points out, however, that many incumbents get re-elected because they do good work and represent their districts well. But again, the public perception is often what is most critical.

Those negative views of the political process could have an effect on the ’08 presidential election, said Johnston. In the podcast, he talks about the early stages of the campaign, including his thoughts about the candidacies of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain.

To hear Johnston, go here or see the Colgate Conversation page or iTunes page for download options.