We ourselves are the strongest weapon.

I find it hard to be a politician.
The success of The House of Cards lies in that it boldly exposes the darkness, the crulty and the bloodiness of politics to you while being able to avoid having you feel distasteful and disdainful for it. Instead, you are so captivated by all the tricks Frank Underwood played, by the way those people talk when being confronted, by their quick action and wide vision. I believe, that’s the charm of politics.
As a party whip, Frank Underwood represents those politicians who are good at playing politics. He is extremely result-oriented. This explains why he spends such a great amount of time and energy plotting, manipulating, to revenge for not being the State Secretary as was promised, and he finally rises to the position of Vice President. This is only the end of season one, and I dare say he has bigger ambition to fulfill in the next seasons. Probably his whole life is an ever-going political game that he is never able to quit.
I am wondering, people like him, with high ranks and great power, why still bother to get involved in those dirty businessed? What the point? Is it for higher rank and greater power? At first, I attribute it as a kind of addiction, which is similar to schoolboys’ addiction to DOTA and CS, popular online games. It is, to some extent, ridiculous, since these two are uncomparable. One is visual, the other is real. However, the great satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment of victory and the desperate longing for a retry after being defeated are the same. Later, when Tusk appears, I suddenly realizes that it is the only option that a politician can choose. Once having tipped into the water, you can never expect a pair of dry shoes. Politics is like a spider’s web. One line connects the other, each represents an interest group. The parting of one line leads to the destruction of the whole web. Like in the field of politics, once you got knocked over, you will have to start all over again, orr even worse, you may never have the chance to. Mistakes are destructive and fatal. You must do your best to avoid them, and most important of all, you must keep spinning the web and make it stronger.
Near the end of season one, Frank said in a church, “there is no solace above and below, only us, small, solitary, striving, beating one another, I pray to myself, I pray for myself”. Politics is dangerous and disguesting, so is the rest of the world. There is indeed nothing and nobody to resort to. We ourselves are the strongest weapon.