I live in DC. I briefly worked for a think tank whereby I was exposed to a lot of politicians. In general, those that rise are smart (shocker). They manipulate

I live in DC. I briefly worked for a think tank whereby I was exposed to a lot of politicians. In general, those that rise are smart (shocker). They manipulate as a means to an end, thinking themselves justified. Unfortunately, everyone is using the same means (i.e. manipulation) leading to some pretty weird systems. Most politicians then fall victim to pursuing their ends relentlessly, even if the landscape has changed so much that an unbiased observer could see it is no longer of value. To be fair, this happens to most ambitious people at some point. The difference being that the non-politician (e.g. entrepreneur) who becomes blind to material changes fails locally in his pursuit while the politician fails nationally.