“At their worst, politicians—like the rest of us—can be petty, venal and self-centered. But I believe politics, at its best, can help to make ours a world where the powerful are truly more just and the poor are more secure.” This is the way Mark Shields closes “The People Have Spoken”—a “This I Believe” essay on the NPR Web site.

I enjoy getting together with Mark on Friday evenings. We don’t do it every week and, of course, he is in Washington, DC, (and other places) and I’m on the family room couch. But the News Hour on PBS brings us together in this one-way connection. He does the talking and I do the listening.