John Block Reports from Washington

I can look out of my office window here in Washington, DC and see the White House. Looking south and reaching toward the sky is the Washington Monument. Decisions are made here that affect the lives of people all across the country -and even in other countries. Ask Saddam Hussein.

I f you stand and watch the process of democracy in action, you realize how messy it can be. The Congress is in constant conflict. Republicans versus Democrats. Conservatives versus liberals. Trying to gain a political advantage. Hoping the other side makes a mistake.

A big brawl rages over the Country of Origin Law. Mexico has shut the door on our corn sweetener. The Europeans are making it all but impossible to market biotech products over there. President Bush is under fire because we haven't found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Did the President exaggerate the threat? And racing back and forth between Iowa and New Hampshire you see the Democratic presidential candidates trying to get some traction.

Now, although all of this political and government activity is necessary and important, the real people who are trying to get ahead, doing the work, caring for their families out in the country, they are the ones that have made this country the super power of the world. My family and I spend last week in Colorado on a ranch -- riding horses, trying to fish, shooting a gun, river rafting, visiting small towns. What a beautiful country this is! When you escape the turmoil of the big city, your perspective changes.

Three weeks ago I spent time on my farm in Illinois. The crops are growing like crazy. Yes, "You can hear the corn grow." The pigs are happy. Good people coast to coast, north to south, are getting the job done. Winston Churchill once said, "Some regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look at it as a cow to be milked. Only a handful see it for what it really is -- the strong and willing horse that pulls the whole cart along." Good people pulling that cart! Until next week, I am John Block from Washington.