In general, the ethics and morals of public officials are:

• Beyond reproach - 120 (3%)
• Better than average - 139 (4%)
• Average - 801 (21%)
• Below average - 1,374 (37%)
• Almost non-existent - 1,305 (35%)

Your comments:

"We ... have always assumed the worst regarding what goes on behind closed doors in politics. Capitol Hill is is comparable to WWF these days, if you ask me it's just a matter of time before they all go down for the count!" T.K., Ansonia

"Everybody has a right to privacy but if you're a public offical and you are having an affair on working time it's not a privacy issue but a public one ... and the taxpayer has a right to know because we as taxpayers are paying you to have that affair while you are working for us." Slick, Danbury

"I think most people that hold public office are good people and do their best for us. There are a few bad apples. These are the ones we read or hear about. The media knows stories of the few bad ones will sell. We don't hear too much about the ones that do their jobs well. Thanks for reading." Hutch, Wallingford

"I think that these officials need to remember where they came from. A lot of them let the power go to their heads and that is unfortunate." F.E.M., Farmington

"Unfortunately, Average in today's societal practices is below any existing standards. Our society has thrown off standards and is trying to adopt an every man for himself approach to ethics. You need a rule in order to know if you stand up to it or fall short of it. So if a public official is 'Average' that is just a judgement on our immoral societal lack of standards. We'd better get a grip soon or we will face consequences of living in a society that is not to anyone's liking." N.M., Vernon

"Thank God President Bush is in office. We regard him and his office the best in years! However, the rest of the senators. and congressmen need to be cleaned up! The morals of some of these people are less then disreputable." J.P.H., Berlin

"Politicians are ALL SNAKES! Some much less than others, but a snake is a snake. Here are some synonyms that come to mind when I think of Politician- fake smiles,obligatory handshakes, killjoys, egomaniacs, personal agendas- masked by good will speeches, pathological liars, arrogance, glass house owners, and by far -- UNQUALIFIED!" Z.I.N., Middletown

"Ladies and Gentlemen: I found this weeks survey to quite ludicrous. We live in a post-modern sociey where 'absolute relativism,' coupled with autonomous individualism is the prevailing world view. How do you define 'ethics' when there is no absolute truth? Most will determine their opinions based on how they 'feel' about the situtation and/or person." M.M., Huntington

"Well, they say that politics makes strange bedfellows, and I guess that is more true today than ever before. I guess that when we elect the best, we hope that they will serve the people that elect them, rather than the money and sex. I guess that Congress hopes that the public and the press will never find any 'skeletons in the closet' that will get them tossed out. Then again, if we can't toss out the President for a sex scandal, are we electing immoral degenerates?

And what about the abuse of power by these elected? I haven't seen any member of Congress forfeit a day's pay for not showing up. That is the law, but never enforced. Bouncing checks would get the common person put in jail, but a House member will get a hand slap to not do it again, or again or again. Since they are the only ones that can clean up themselves, they may never do so as they like the power that so well comes to them. Not to say that they should be holier than thou, but a whole lot of responsibility is indeed needed or the old saying that Absolute power corrupts Absolutely is, in this case, very true.

We need not regress and elect moralists so change will happen, just get the elected to clean up their act or get voted out." G.M.K., Waterbury

"They are a lot better people running our country today than there was in the 1950s -60s and 70s. Those people was of the so called "greats generation." I don't think so! That generation robbed us, belittled Veterans of Korea and Vietnam. Yes they was very selfish and thought only of their own generation. They did nothing to make it better for their children and grandchildren." Hutch, Wallingford

"They don't even have to play by the same rules we do! The rich man don't fry!" G.L., Guilford

"When I read the results of this survey about public officials I am amazed. The results probably reflect the respondents' own moral failures coupled with a 'holier than thou' attitude. As representatives, members of Congress probably generally reflect their constituents quite well -- morally and ethically as well as politically." P.R.H., Burlington

"Where do the people live who voted 'above reproach' or 'above average'? They must be on some distant island with no media reports." A.D.W., Chester

"To editor: Better survey if the last category was 'no ethics at all'." R.J.S., Redding

"How sad that a small minority now represents all public officials. It's not Public Officials solely. Corruption exists in every occupation. Remember that next time you 'borrow' office supplies from the company or you find out about a co-workers affair or missing/misappropriated funds. It's usually the most unscrupulous person that has the most to say about someone else. Public Officials, like no other occupation, are under constant public scrutiny in both their private and public life. That is why it's so easy to disect thier lives - especially if you're of the opposite political party. Most Officials are morally above the expectations of thier constituents. Everyone is trying to get a job done - unfortunately a small percentage will take advantage of the situtation they are in - in any occupation. The allegations in Bridgeport regarding the 'Public Official' are inconceivable. There is an ongoing investigation and the outcome should deter everyone, in all occupations, from such behavior." Ann, New Haven