Am I taking crazy pills here?

I was reading something the other day, it's not important what, the the following passage caught my attention;

The President is chosen for four years, and he may be reelected; so that the chances of a prolonged administration may inspire him with hopeful undertakings for the public good, and with the means of carrying them into execution.

Nice, huh.

The same thought might be applied to senators and representatives as well, no? That they would, with an eye on getting reelected might weigh their actions in office wisely and with care. It seems to me that the opposite is true of our current crop. They are shoving legislation down our throats, with out regard, for we people that they supposedly represent as if they don't care that they have elections coming up in 11 months. There seems to be an attitude of "Damn them all, let's get what we can, while we can."

When you ponder on the caliber of men like Jefferson, Payne, Madison, Washington, Hancock, et. al.

Have we really gone from the age of Gentlemen/Statesmen to Pirate/Politicians?