Do we expect too much from our politicians?

Whilst i believe that Cameron, like all politicians should be allowed a past and a private life, the point is here that he has gone to great lengths to oppose the leagalisation arguement making his past actions a touch hypocritical. The same as Ruth Kelly choosing a private school for here familly whilst telling us that state schools are good enough for the rest of us. Most politicians in the UK are self serving and hypocrites.

They should not be judged on what they have done in the past, but if they want our trust and respect they should have the decency to be honest and open about what they have done. Usually politicians try to hide what they have got up to in their private lives, which is why we judge them so badly when something gets out.

to be honest i think revelations liek that are a credit to any politician. without generalising, i don't know how the older gneration will view it, but to me it just shows he aint a lifeless robot, without life experiences. with certain thigns, if you're going to be involved in debate over them, you have to have experienced them to know what you're talking about. the law concerning smoking cannabis is becoming more and more relaxed, and i would imagine alot of people are using it at the moment, so maybe there will be alot of debate on the issue in the near future. but politicians should know by now exactly what they are getting themselves into. the tabloids have been harassing them for years. the job of a politician is clearly a stressfull one but only a certain type of person would want to run the county so i'm sure it's a small price to pay for them

Everyone has something in their past that they regret. Their is no reason to hold something from the past against them. The issue of smoking a joint has come up a few time in the US. It finally came down to the issue of whether or not someone actually inhaled. The individual involved claimed he did not. The media is nuts anyway, I think that is a requirement of the job. No one should be judged for the same silly mistakes that everyone else makes anyway.

Yes we expect too much. Almost all politicians in the Philippines are corrupt and we're expecting them to actually think of us the people and not themselves. But we're only kidding ourselves really, I think it's too much to ask them to be honest.

I agree that people do seem to judge most politicians more harshly than just average people. Like you said they are human and they do make mistakes. When they were younger most of them probably weren't thinking about their actions effecting them when they are older. Most young people tend not to think of the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, their lives are under microscopes and so being honest about their mistakes and what they've learned from them probably would be best. But most politicians would never do that.

no.. politics are just gud 4 nothing

Everyone seems to forget that before they were elected, politicians were people too. They grew up doing the same things that every other normal kid did.

I don't think the politician should be judge with the odd stupid things whilst growing up as long as proven that they are clean during and after election not just cover it up. Because alot of politicians also make promises but soon as they got elected...promises only stay as promises...reality says different...

I don't think we should be judging our politicians by their private lives from the past ,unless it's detrimental to the present office he occupies.News like the head of party used to run a trafficking racket or leaked papers in his college days won't speak highly about his morality.Though it might be in past and he could have changed since then,public perception of the person is largely based on which part of his life is highlighted and hence,his image might take a beating with that kind of news.However,when it's something entirely private ,I don't think we should try reading too much into it or atleast form an inflexible conclusion about the person based on those facts,especially,if we know to have performed well as a politician in his 'present'.