EDITORIAL NO MORE KINGS FROM CITY HALL TO THE WHITE HOUSE, POLITICIANS MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

SCHOOLHOUSE Rock," the Saturday morning educational cartoon series from the 1970s that taught a generation about American history and civics, explained the country's struggle for independence from England as a quest to be ruled by "no more kings."

"We're gonna elect a president! (No more kings)

"He's gonna do what the people want! (No more kings)"

That message might have been reduced to blithely simplistic terms to resonate with 8-year-olds, but it did represent a fundamental belief that has characterized this country's self-definition since its inception: We don't want kings ruling by fiat and whim. We want fair, transparent and temporary representation in the government by men and women who hold these same ideals.

It's a tough standard to hold. Throughout human history, democratic governments have been brought down by those whose ambitions of power overrode their ambitions to serve. Power corrupts those who have it, and it's a constant struggle between those who want more power and less accountability to the people and the rest of us, who just want elected officials to do their jobs well, then go home.

That's why revelations of abuses of power and office from City Hall to the White House are so disturbing.

Vice President Dick Cheney, the second-most-powerful man in the country, apparently believes his very position exempts him from normal oversight. At least that's what one can deduce from his efforts to shut down routine oversight of how his office handles classified documents -- a rule signed by his own boss and applicable to every other person in the White House.

It's not Cheney's right or place to decide which rules he wants to follow, and which he thinks are dumb. His job is to serve for the people, not over them.

The same goes for Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who is now under investigation for choosing to follow some rules and not other people, even while applying them to others people.

We don't want or need more kings in America, or in Los Angeles. We want and need fair representation by men and women who understand that they work for the people -- not the other way around.