Are these politicians idiots?

"Have the politicians become idiots, or are the people who keep electing them idiots?" In the words of Will Rogers, "Every country in world has exactly the government it deserves!". So, I would say the people who elect such politicians are the idiots. Consider too, that when a politician says something idiotic it is not necessarily something he believes. It is for sure something he thinks idiots who vote for him believe. In regards to this quote, "We would be safer if we the legal citizens didn't have any way to protect ourselves from criminals.", I will tell you this. I have read here on myLot that pretty much describes the situation in Australia and England. So, don't think it can't happen.

I think that many of the politicians are idiots, and those who are thing that we are dumb enough to believe what they say. Some of us aren't smart enough not to elect the idiots into office, and some of the idiot politicians are clever enough to weasel their way into office whether the majority wants them or not.

"Deevolved" ... I love it. That says it all.

Let's see... They get paid whether they work or not. They don't actually have to answer to anyone (usually). Most of their time is spent doing things that have nothing to do with their jobs. They get to retire whenever they want. So what's the down side? Oh yeah, they get made fun of by comedians and on the internet. Where do I sign up to be an idiot? :~D

I think politicians have become celebritized (if that's a word). Ofcourse it's good that people of all social standing and IQ level are allowed to vote, but I don't believe that everyone knows who or what they're really voting for. Instead they are voting for a face. For example, my friend voted for the Labour Pary because he thought 'Tony Blair looked like a nice man'. A lot of politicians are into giving cheesy lines and chasing personal popularity. Sometimes that works for the better - trying to please everyone can't be bad. But if every politician did that, there would be no point in having different parties because all of their policies would be too similar to each other's. I think politics should be taught much more in school, and students should keep up to date with important issues. That way people will know what they're voting for, not just a friendly face.

Not sure all politicians are idiots, but it sure looks like that at times. Bush letting off his friend do a spell in jail certainly reverbed around the British Press. But we got a New Prime Minister without an election. My own MP(Member of Parliament) seems a good guy, works hard for the community, but there again his party is not in power so he probably has to make a bit of extra effort. No it takes a special skill to be an MP. The scottish senior minister is managing to take wages from the Scottish Parliament as well as the English Parliament. I hope he says he never noticed, just stupid or thinks we are. We have some real issues with the health service and floods at the moment a few more pounds may come in useful. I agree with one of your respondents. But I don't know which are more stupid, them or us. Except we are so busy just trying to keep still.

Itis difficult to convience some people that tax cut work for all people. In my case I don't make enough for the tax cut to directle effect me but I notice that my standard of iving goes up wehn the "wealthy get tax cuts" and My standard of living goes down when the Middle Class get a tax cut. I read this article on Hub Pages that explains how tax cuts work. It puts in in plane engligh (saomething the ploiticians need to learn to speak) http://hubpages.com/hub/How_Tax_Cuts_Work Check out the web pages and get a better understanding of how tax cuts work.

I think that politicians should be paid minimum wage and receive a daily stipend equal to a night at a family motel and meals at a family restrauant. They should be paid mileage or coach fair which ever is cheeper. They are to represent the common people so let them live like a common perosn. They also should be able to explain every bill they vote on. Take the Immigration Bill or the First Topp Funding Bill. Most legislators could not answere simple questions on the bills - of course the bills were hundrend of pages long with cross refrences and tie ins to other laws. It is a beautiful system - built in deniableity - I didn't know that was in the bill or that is not what I understood. In Wisconsin many of the staffers are just out of college - young idealistic people who have no real life experience. Living in Washington DC they are living in a world of their own. After all it's not their money and they have the power by telling the politician what is in the bill and how it will help save the world. How nmany politicians move back home after serving in Washington?

Two really good questions! Both are true, I think. Sometimes I think politicians live on another planet. They don't think like I do, or anyone I know. And people keep electing them. Since I am very conservative...here is a good example...Ted Kennedy is very liberal in his politics...so, as a conservative, I wonder how in the world he keeps getting elected to congress! No offense to the liberal side...just pointing out an example.

They are socialists who are intent on taking away as many freedoms as possible. That is how they intend to keep their power by pretending they know what is best for us. It does not matter who gets elected, because all politicians have only their best interests in mind. A politician has to raise taxes so they can continue to share the wealth with the have nots in an attempt to create prosperity for all. At this point, I am so sick of politics and the socialistic nonsense, that I am going to go back into hiding until after the elections. When I come out of my hiding place, I will see a bunch of new faces but nothing else will have changed.

Not all muslims are terrorists, but most terrorists tend to be muslims -- I say most, because I've read about a few extremist denominations of OTHER religions where terrorism is concerned too. And though this may seem like a silly question, how does one define 'terrorist' anyway? I looked up the dictionary definition and it said: "One who inflicts fear and pain upon others, usually for political ends" Heck, that fits a load of people. From serial killers..to politicians. And to think, when I was young I can't recall ever hearing the word 'terrorist', but nowadays it doesn't matter where I go. It's everywhere. And I'm sick and tired of everyone running around, every time some kid blows up a car for kicks..screaming, "OMG I'm gonna die!" when the kid doesn't frankly care about them. Or some other such over-reaction. But yes..politicians are idiots who think they're clever, some people who elect them aren't stupid..but most of them unfortunately are, because they actually full-heartedly believed for a second that somehow..these people had our best interests at heart. It's kindof like the smart people are penned in and surrounded by stupidity..creating a kind of vertigo..which makes it even harder for the smart people to discern truth, or make smart decisions..and those that somehow do, are few so that they can't really make much of a diff. Crazy how this world of ours works, eh? *sad*

I would say that it's a little bit of both, gewcew. The trouble with politicians is that they continue to make promises that they have no intention of keeping once they're elected. Some are delusional, while some are just outright liars. The problem with the voters is that some are wearing rose-colored glasses, and some should not even be qualified to vote because they are not knowledgeable about the issues. In an ideal world would-be voters would have to pass a test showing that they at least have a passing knowledge about the candidates and issues on the ballot. But, that will never happen.

Yes, it's amazing how a country the size of the US could not come up with a smarter president than the current one. And he was elected twice (if you count 2000)! I guess some people are not smart enough to realize how ignorant they are. Oh well, that's democracy for you. "It's the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried" (Winston Churchill).

For a moment I thought that this could be a very interesting discussion, and maybe that you meant that most terrorists were Muslims, but upon reading the rest of my comments, you, gewcew, are the reason why the rest of the world are scared of America. First of all: Politicians are not idiots. They get where they are by manipulating two very important factors; people whose money they need to run a campaign, and wooing the lowest common denominator of any country and citizenship, which often translates to the biggest votes of the electoral process. The lowest common denominator's standards are different in each country, but it would not be too far to say, I believe, that these are the most simple-minded people in the country. All they want to do is to eke out a living and live their lives the best they can. Changing the world is nice too, but I need to feed and take care of my family first. With that in mind, they often do not see the larger picture, because they're too busy working and politicians DELIBERATELY muddle the issue so the people tend to pick the party/person that they resonate with the most. Sometimes it looks like they're being idiots, but they're pandering to the people who elected them. On that all Muslims are terrorists bit: Please show me SPECIFICALLY where in the Quran (NOT the Hadith, mind you) where it says to convert people by the sword. I agree that MOST terrorists these days seem to be Muslims, but not all Muslims are terrorists. It's one thing to classify terrorists as Muslims, it's quite another to classify all of them as terrorists. If you cannot show proof from the Quran, then I would suggest that you lay off your claim. It's not only offensive, but it's degrading. You may claim your right of free speech, but I claim my right to disagree with you.

Ok, i have a problem with something you said. You said that terrorists are Muslims. That is NOT fair. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Not all terrorists are Muslims. Terrorists come in all shapes, sizes, races, religions, and genders. To take one religion and claim them as terrorists is bigoted and misrepresentive. i agree with you that politicians seem to have de-evolved, but not really for the reasons you have given. You say taxes are not good. Well, i know we all hate to pay them, but maybe if they were integrated into things like health care and whatnot, people would be more willing to pay them. One of the biggest problems in this counrty is the healthcare system. Most European nations and Canada have socialized medicine and it works out SO much better for the people. Yes, they are paying a little more in taxes, but they know if they are sick or injured, they will be taken care of...which is something my family is struggling with now. i was in a near fatal car accident Dec 9, 2003. i spent 2 years in the hospital. i have now lost my insurance and my MedieCare, which i so desperately need. i now ony have MediCal, which is all but worthless. i can now only go to filthy clinics for health care. No specialists, which are what i need. i need a pulmonologist desperately. i am oxygen dependant since my lings were destroyed. i need an endocrinologist to help manage my diabetes and my thyroid. i need a hemotologist to help manage my platelet levels. The previous insurance company now has no obligation to take care of things that they were obligated to before. i have surgeries that i need and cannot afford to get. If we had sicialized medicine, i would be taken care of. So would one of my closest friends, who has a lot of health issues. So would many others who are getting screwed around by the greedy insurance companies and the government that is unwilling to help. i am sure most people out there would be willing to pay a little more in taxes if it meant all their health care and their family's health care would be taken care of.

Hi there gewcew, from reading your discussion, i have realised that your attitude reflects that you are from the US, after checking, i was right, you are from United States. Now dont take me wrong, i am not trying to be racist, but really, how would you like your nation to be generalized just because of a small minority of people in your country? For example, in Italy, some Itallians see a fat person, like uber size, they say "wow look at that American" (since americans are known for their size), how would you feel? Now not everyone in America is obese right? and not everyone who is Muslim is a terrorist right? So what right do you have in generalising terrorists as Muslims? that is wrong, and you SHOULD quit calling terrorists Muslims. TAXES ARE NECESSARY also if the gini coefficient (the gap between rich and poor people) become too large, there will be problems in the economy, it will become like india, where rich people get extremely rich, while poor people starve, please if you do not understand how an economy works do not make random comments about it. Also, i am assuming that you are a legal citizen, thus you would have to vote, so if you are a voter, are you not implying that you yourself is one of those "people who keep electing them idiots"... Sorry if i sounded harsh, but i did not mean to offend you in any way... =] Politicians are not getting dumber, they have always been dumb, it is the global issues which show their lack on intelligence to the world even more obviously

Well here's the twist fellas.. Its funny when we call politicians being idiots.. Why funny? Because in the first place, they will never be politicians if there we're no people started getting idiots for voting politicians, idiots came from idiots, when you call a politician as idiots, its like saying that those people who voted him/her were the one who became idiots first, right? People have choices, if we think that the man cant lead his country and promote quality of life then never vote for such idiot candidate .. =)