HAVE PUBLIC OFFICIALS GOTTEN A HUGE CASE OF THE STUPIDS LATELY?

What is going on here? It seems that whereever you turn across Florida's newspapers, there is yet another story about some local or state public official doing or saying something incredibly dumb.

Of course, there was the whole Mark Foley mess. Just in the past week we've heard about State Representative Rafael Arza (R - Hialeah) leaving several obscene telephone message --- including racial slurs --- for House collegue Rep. Gustavo Barreiro (R - Miami Beach) in an apparant fit of drunkedness.

This morning we see Hillsborough County Tax Collector Doug Belden admitting he kissed and groped a woman without her consent in a bar and stating that he, too, will seek help for a drinking problem. And Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti (R) resigned Thursday in the wake of a federal investigation into possible misuse of power and secret land deals. And that comes only a week after West Palm Beach City Commissioner Ray Liberti was sentenced to an 18 month prison term for fraud.

I mean, is there something in the water, or is it just that more of our public officials truly believe that they are above the law. Stories like this are one of the main reasons why people's confidence in the men and women they elect has continued to drop. It is our responsibility to find and elect responsible people to serve our communities and state.