All the King’s Men follows the political career of Willie Stark, tracking the development of his relationship with political power. The local political scene is already rife with corruption when Willie enters it, and in fact, he begins his career as an anti-corruption candidate. When a corrupt school construction contract leaves three children dead, Willie’s solitary stand against the contract makes him a folk hero. Local voters see him as a political outsider capable of cutting through the morass of grift they see in local government.

Willie’s use of power becomes more morally ambiguous and skewed as he depends more and more on blackmail and bribery. His entire conception of his role in the government is influenced by such tactics, which often prove more beneficial and efficient than other, more respectable avenues. As he argues with his attorney general over the impeachment of an official, he expresses his perception of what the law should be: “The law is always too short and too tight for growing humankind. The best you can do is do something and then make up some law to fit and by the time that law gets on the books you would have done something different” (136).