Originally Posted by DanaC
We The People, do not demand politicians who are honest, competant and clear in their ideals. We demand politicians who look good on a camera and can 'connect' with the common man by reflecting his own ideals back at him. We do not reward competant policy making, we reward popular sloganising. Accuracy and openness is met with ridicule and pillory, vague statements of intent are more palatable to us.
The best minds in politics are rarely the most electable ones. The ones that are most likely to succeed in the world of politics and find a place on the national stage are the ones who can play to our fickle desires, not the ones who can incisively cut to the heart of an issue. The politicians with the closest links to powerful friends, and the most popular persona wins out, on the whole, against the politicians with the most steadfast commitment to the common good. And we perpetuate that in most elections. Instead of statesmen and stateswomen, we have actors and competitors in a game. And we perpetuate that in most elections.
We have the politicians we deserve.
And, again, I'll make the point I often make when people lump all politicians together: the world of politics, like any other arena in life, is composed of many parts and variables. The people who go into politics are no more an identikit group than police, firefighters, soldiers, butchers, bankers, teachers, etc. There are arseholes, and there are highly committed individuals. There are people skimming and people as honest as the day. What we see of politics is often a very small part of the picture. Most politicians are not as well known as the main players. The ones who take on the role of ad-hoc advocate and socialworker for their constituents' problems, manage a small team of advisors and researchers, attenddebates and vote on issues, sit on committees and attend a local school's nativity, and then sit up late into the night reading reports and papers. There are a lot of very hard working people in the world of politics. Don't discount them because the ones who managed to claw their way to the top of a very nasty mountain are so bad.
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