Politicians, of course, typically “lead” by holding their fingers firmly to the wind. Being elected is important; being re-elected (again and again) is super important. Neither will happen without lots of campaign cash, which will require slavishly—and often foolishly—parroting a preferred narrative with only minimal reference to reality because this tactic will win the loyalty of one group of voters or another who want some money, have a grievance, or (as is typically the case) have a grievance they insist can only be fixed with money. This is politics in a nutshell. All the rest is platitudes and lies. This would not matter all that much—we have, after all, stumbled through 250 years of remarkable success despite often being led by roaring mediocrities—if we had simply remembered to keep our budgets balanced and voter expectations reasonable. However, having devoted the Read more