This paper examines recent behavior of public officials at various levels of government in the United States, finds a systemic failure to meet ethical standards, and concludes that the wisdom of James Madison has much applicability to current times. Given his keen perception of human nature, Madison would not be too surprised at today's poor ethical performance. In "Federalist #51" Madison wrote: "In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself." (DB)