Can you name any politician who you feel is “of the people”? A person like you or us?

Austen Diamond: Grover Cleveland was the last of them. I hear he could make a mean egg-salad sandwich.

Kelly Cannon: Barack Obama is pretty much “of the people” because of his beer summit. Being able to drink beer at work is basically the American Dream.

Lakota Gambill: Bill Clinton. Come on, we all make mistakes.

Taryn Willis: No. Every politician I have known, no matter how wonderful I have thought them to be, is changed by the control behind them. Those behind the scenes of their campaign need to hold the values the party members and, especially, the campaign contributors. Even if the politician did have the best intentions, it is not always his or her voice that matters in the end.

Bryan Bale: The cynical side of me says no. The nature of politics seems to be such that it either attracts corrupt individuals, or corrupts those who become part of the system. The logical side of me says it’s highly improbable; anyone who’s like me won’t be making a career of politics.

Derek Carlisle: The only politicians who can possibly be of the average are at the state level, and that’s only the half that aren’t affluent and can pay their way to a position.

Jerre Wroble: There are some, but they tend to be underdogs, prone to burning out and returning to their real lives. Meanwhile, those with seniority and/or high rank start to puff up and believe their own campaign literature about themselves. Term limits, I say!