Brooks on Political Pandering

An interesting piece from David Brooks on the conflict between politicians' public and private persona. I'm not sure if I agree with his conclusion, but it's worth the read.

"In short, our democracy, at least as it has evolved, takes individuals who are reasonable in private and it churns them through a public process that is almost tailor-made to undermine their virtues. The process of perpetually kissing up to the voters destroys the leadership qualities the voters are looking for in the first place: tranquillity of spirit, independence of mind and a sensitivity to the contours and complexity of reality."