(Kristin A., Creative Commons)

The term of office for a United States Representative is two years, for a Senator is six years, and for a President is four years. It seems that, increasingly over the years, most of officials’ time in office is spent not on governing in the best interests of the country, but on campaigning for re-election, either directly or indirectly.

This, in one sense, is a good thing – officials know that if they are to be re-elected, they must take into account voters’ perceptions of their actions in office, and so officials must act accordingly to maintain popularity with their constituents. They may be seen, therefore, as fulfilling the will of the people, and the threat of being voted out of office should temper any drastic departures from campaign promises that were instrumental in getting the official elected in the first place.

However, the desire for re-election cannot outweigh the desire to govern effectively. Each elected official must carefully evaluate a situation (e.g. whether to sign a new bill into law), listen to logical arguments from all sides of the issue in a debate, and then make a calculated decision based on an educated judgment of the benefits of one course of action or another. That is his or her job, after all.

On the contrary, the job of an elected official is not to rigidly conform to principles in the interest of retaining or gaining voters for the next election (no matter how far in the future it may be), when such conformity would jeopardize the well being of the country.

Our government, being comprised of many different individuals with differing principles, allows each official to bring a different perspective to an issue, so that all possibilities can be explored and the best solution reached through reason and compromise. It does not function properly, if at all, when irrationality and stubbornness prevail, simply for the sake of visibly (so all the voters can see) adhering to principle.

Rather than focusing on "well and faithfully discharg[ing] the duties of the office," many current elected officials seem to be neglecting that oath in the interest of political gain. The United States is now suffering because of their actions.

Once elections are over, the politics need to end, and the governing needs to begin. Come next election cycle, maybe those officials who do not understand that their job is not to campaign but to legislate, will reap their due rewards.

Reach Staff Columnist Cara Palmer here or follow her on Twitter.