Bill Moyers did a spot on Earmarks about 2 weeks ago that show how crooked the whole process really is. Then when you see how much money is going to candidates (for what reasons!!!) it sure shows our corruption. If I recall, it's 15 Billion in Earmarks last year, less than 1% of the total budget but it's damning to the whole system. I agree, they should be eliminated 100%
if you want to see it, it's here....
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02222008/watch.html