A simple but elegant product is unlikely to wow the politician making the purchasing decision. If it's complicated and over engineered, it'll probably be expen

A simple but elegant product is unlikely to wow the politician making the purchasing decision. If it's complicated and over engineered, it'll probably be expensive too. Both factors in favour for a politician, as if it's expensive it's a safe bet. If it's a boring little eight-segment display and a pair of buttons, the voters will go "we spent $10m on this cheap looking crap?!". So you go for the one with the shiny gui, the crazy price tag, and you've chosen sensibly - or as sensibly as one can in our batshit insane system of the world.