Statesman or politician?

Muhammad Yunus, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, announced the foundation of a new party call "Citizens' Power" on February 18, 2007 (this is not the final decision on the name of the party).

I guess most of my friends have read the introduction to him on my Chinese blog. And for those who did not, I believe you've also known something about this respectable gentleman. The successful application of the concept of microcredit helped, and will still help, improve the situation of the poor.

Now I am torn between respecting him as usual and not respecting him that much since his decision to get involved in politics.

I care about what happens around the world, but politics would be the last stuff I am interested in. Most politicians forget what they have promised to people when they get more and more power but seek for their own interest. What they described about the better future is just a piece of s**t.

Take president of Taiwan, Chen. He was trusted and loved from bottom of many Taiwanese' hearts, but his wife and son-in-law were both accused of corruption charges now. Meanwhile, the ex-leader of the opposite party, Ma, was also indicted on the same charges for allegedly embezzling over NT10 million in government expenses during his term as Taipei mayor.

Guess what their supporters do? These people just laugh at the other case and pretend nothing bad really happened on their side. Also, they refuse to believe those accusations are TRUE.

That's why I choose to believe these politicians only after they have really done something for the benefit of people.

However, on the other hand, there are also great statesmen such as Washington who refused to pursue a third term and made it the enduring norm that no U.S. President should seek more than two. This is just an excellent lesson for those who look for power. (about this part, if you guys know more about great statesmen, please share with me, I would appreciate.)

So, I think I am supposed to be optimistic as much as I can. Will Yunus be a politician or statesman? Time will tell.