It's really not that surprising that nine of the 12 most obviously corrupt congressmen won reelection, and only one was actually defeated (three resigned). Congressmen get tagged for personal corruption, but personal corruption is, in general, a function of public corruption, which tends to heavily benefit their constituents. When congressmen skim, it means they have something to skim off of. Ted Stevens is a good example. He's taken a couple million in kickbacks, and brought tens of billions home to his state. A rational electorate -- as opposed to a moral electorate -- has every reason to reward that behavior.