I disagree on a couple of levels, but the difference may be semantic as much as anything. I think it's appropriate to be *skeptical* about our politicians, but not *cynical* about them, if you see my difference. That is, I don't believe we should be naively credulous about them, but cynicism goes too far in my book -- it tends to lead people to disengage from the process, which only makes things worse.

And it's worth noting that I disagree about your last point. While there are certainly many politicians in Washington who aren't worthy of trust, I find quite a lot who are. No, I don't *agree* with them all the time, and they certainly make their share of human mistakes, but there are plenty who I don't think deserve cynicism...