I read with great sadness about the conviction of former Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Larry Langford, 63, who was found guilty of accepting $236,000 in cash and gifts in exchange for guiding contracts toward one of his friends, investment banker Bill Blount.

Langford's conviction conjures up a long list of mixed feelings. I can almost never fully believe anything that most politicians say. What's worse, I surely can't trust what politicians say about other politicians, as others are now using Langford as an example of how they've suddenly weeded out corruption.

Here are some quick thoughts on the trial of Larry Langford and what it means for politics in general, as well as his home city of Birmingham.

1) It's interesting how all comments about this case vary along party lines.

On one side, the Birmingham Democrats (Langford's party) have a tone of forgiveness for Langford and/or a sense of outrage at this "unjust" verdict. From the Republican side, there is nothing unjust about the verdict; rather, it is a "wake-up call" for politicians that this behavior is not going to be tolerated. The truth is that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are doing a good job for the people of Birmingham. Since 2000, 13 percent of the Birmingham population has moved away. Langford might be a convenient scapegoat for what ails the city, but the truth is that its problems are much deeper.

2) Do you really think that Langford is the only politician who has accepted a bribe?

The saddest thing about politics is that there is usually a very delicate power balance, one that can destroy your career if it is ever tipped out of your favor. It seems that nearly every politician is holding a political gun to the head of another, with each of them worried that his dirty laundry is going to get released before his opponent's. There are many politicians who cheat on their spouses, sleep with male lovers while fighting against gay rights, allow themselves to be bought out by industries that want to hurt the American people and even have people killed. So when a politician is convicted of a crime, I don't suddenly feel that the streets are safer. My interpretation is that the "bad guy" was probably on the losing end of a power struggle, and our minds are being manipulated to think that he or she is somehow worse than all of the other politicians who take care of their own interests ahead of their constituency.

3) Does exposure for corruption destroy a politician's legacy?

I had a friend whose father used to beat her as a child. The beatings were severe, and she suffers long-term psychological trauma from the experience. When you ask her and her siblings about their father, though, they say nothing but good things. Their philosophy is not that the beatings were okay, but that their father's mistakes do not overcome the good things he did. The same can be said about Langford, a politician who was loved by many for being a go-getter, rising out of the projects of Birmingham to take over the mayor's office. I am hopeful that those who evaluate Langford's legacy in the long-term will not focus solely on this incident. For the sake of full disclosure, I do not know anyone from Langford's family or political camp.

When it comes to Langford's trial and conviction, the bottom line is this: My philosophy on political corruption is similar to the opinions that many had during the Monica Lewinsky scandal: If a politician is being a little selfish on the side, I don't usually care as long as he is doing his job effectively. Call me cynical, but I don't trust politicians as far as I can throw them, and I believe that for every convicted politician, there are 10 others who did the same thing unscathed. At the same time, I sympathize with political figures (even the head honcho in the White House), because many of them, like kids in the hood, are simply products of a messy, dysfunctional environment.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University and author of the book 'Black American Money.' To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.