Pity the Pusher, Prostitute and Politician

Let us play devil's advocate and defend politicians, though it cracks the enamel on our teeth to say so.
The nature of politics, managing the life of the "polis", means getting diverse people or groups to compromise their own self interests long enough to achieve some common goal, even something as simple as a sewage bond or school mill proposal.
… And you have to get all these yahoos moving in the same direction just to keep the lights on and the fire trucks gassed up... let us pity the poor politicians-- the honest ones, at least, who try, like Confucius, to construct a society with imperfect materials...
…And now, as if the basic task weren't impossible enough, you have to hold on to your job by kissing the ass and smiling at people you ordinarily despise. We are forced to concede that this is a truly noble form of ass-kissing; could any of us schmooze some jerk and promise some selfish prick a hand-job just to get a children's hospital built?
…And you have to learn to use television to stay in office, even though you hate it...
…And you hate having to reduce complex issues to sound bites for morons...
…And it doesn't matter how good and honest and true statesman you are, it doesn't matter how smart or how competent you are because you're going to be beaten by some sentient colon polyp who’s been trained in television and isn't good at anything except winning primaries... and in a world built by advertising, this skillful insincerity is admired rather than condemned…
… And you have to beg, borrow or steal the money to buy the television time, giving away a little to get a little while trying to remember your original goals...and instead of talking about vital issues, they want you to wear a flannel shirt to reassure both women voters and the NRA.
… And why do you agree to this nonsense?
… Because the American polis has trained our politicians to jump through these hoops to make us happy because we don’t give a shit about issues or civic virtrue or reality instead of lies
… Because we’re the ones who eat up the shit that comes out of their mouths like it was ice cream...
…And change the channel to watch a fucking ball game... Entire networks are devoted as described by Sir Joseph Tewkesbury, to “the playing of games with balls of various sizes”, as if we had become a nation of sedentary dogs content to watch others chase the ball, chase the ball, chase the ball, chase the ball…
… We have made the American politicians what they are.
We want them to lie to us because we're spoiled children demanding sugar instead of real food, we don't care if it rots our teeth and gives us diabetes and deficits.
… And then we have the goddamn nerve to complain about the candidates we get. News Flash: you wouldn't vote for Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt if they had to run on a modern television campaign.
The rubes need to look in the mirror, STFU, and stop blaming the employees for being stupid. Do our politicians behave badly? Of course they do, and whose fault is that? Are prostitutes to blame for the moralist's lust, or the pusher man for the customers' intoxication?

We shape them. We hire them. …And …