Do members of Congress routinely hire family members to do work for them?

Yes, nearly 50 of them do, according to an Associated Press survey published this week. Politics, apparently, is not like a lot of corporations where nepotism is discouraged. To hear the lawmakers, including Utah Rep. Chris Cannon, tell it, the family members provide invaluable service at a bargain rate.

Whether House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's payout of more than $500,000 to his wife and daughter over four years is reasonable is up to interpretation. There are no rules or laws against it.

But the publicity over this practice is just further evidence of how DeLay's troubles have unleashed a partisan feeding frenzy in Washington. It's becoming difficult to distinguish DeLay's seemingly outrageous behavior from things that appear to be matters of routine within the beltway.

And yet there is enough evidence of improprieties concerning trips taken at the expense of lobbyists with no clear purpose in mind, and of a trip taken at the expense of a foreign agent, to suggest that DeLay needs to explain himself. Even Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who himself once faced allegations of behavioral problems, have said he needs to provide answers to the American people. In addition, 10 former GOP House members have said lawmakers should tighten their ethics controls, rather than the current attempt to loosen them in the wake of allegations against the majority leader.

As we said earlier this week, politicians in high office cannot take the notion of ethics lightly. Public perceptions do much to shape the confidence with which public institutions operate. Without a strong dose of public confidence, Congress cannot effectively operate on behalf of the people.

Unfortunately, DeLay's comments in the wake of Terri Schiavo's death have complicated matters. He originally hinted at impeaching judges and spoke of a day of reckoning for bad judicial rulings. He backed away from those comments earlier this week. Certainly, DeLay is not the first member of the legislative branch to be angered by the judicial branch. But his comments in the Schiavo case are immaterial to the ethical questions and must be kept separate.

Surely, as readers have pointed out to us this week, members of both parties have been, and still are in some cases, guilty of questionable ethical behavior. All public officials, especially those on the state and local levels in Utah, should demonstrate a commitment to the highest standards of conduct. However, members in leadership roles deserve special scrutiny.

DeLay needs to address the allegations against him publicly.