Damn, I wouldn't go that far, you're even more jaded than me. Are you familiar with the political career of Paul Wellstone? He's not around anymore, unfortuntely, but he seemed like one of the good ones.
Anyhow, to walk around and just assume everyone is on the take is a little bit too unproductive, even for me. At some point, unless you are going to run for a political office yourself, you have to get behind someone to get things done.
In my view, there are far fewer "good", "decent", and centered people in the world (and by that, I don't just mean "people who agree with me") than there are vicious, greedy, petty, selfish people . That fact makes me fight that much harder against those who'd champion the worst in human nature, but it's also what makes me a Curmudgeon (at times).
mrC