By Brendan McLaughlin

The College of Cardinals  has it figured out. Instead of voting for the candidate who wants the job most, they elect the guy who wants it least.  Joseph Ratzinger tells the story of how he prayed to God that the conclave would choose someone else.  God ignored that prayer and now he's Benedict the XVI with an approval rating up there with Charlie Crist.

The conclaves of knuckleheads we call the Democratic and Republican parties have devised a system where unbridled, ruthless ambition counts for everything. And the closer the candidates get to the finish line, the faster they shed their veneer of independence and integrity. 

The likeable and honorable Fred Thompson went from Reagan redux to Republican reject the moment he was perceived as lacking adequate belly fire. Right when John McCain smelled victory, he started to jettison his long held positions on torture, Bush's tax cuts, ethanol subsidies, agents of intolerance and more. Barack Obama's new brand of politics looks a lot like the old brand and Hillary Clinton has made even her most dedicated supporters wonder if there's anything she won't do or say to win.

I have to believe that candidates make a secret deal with themselves when they so willingly compromise their own convictions to gain a few points in a Rasmussen poll. It goes something like this: 

 "I'm the best person for the job. Everybody on my staff tells me so. Therefore the country needs  me to be President. For the next few months, I'll tell the voters what they want to hear instead of the truth. Then, after I'm sworn in, I'll make the tough calls- I swear."

Cardinal Ratzinger won his election without a single TV ad, press conference or campaign promise. Our Presidential candidates have to work for it, but remember- when they make promises to crack down on Wall Street or maintain entitlement benefits at current levels, just like the chimney at the Sistine Chapel, they're blowing smoke.