A majority who wont "play ball" are weeded out through scandal and blackmail before they can ever reach a podium that matters, those who sneak by are often those incapable of navigating the games we have made out of politics and those who last a long time and can navigate the political ocean get their names and reputations thrown through all sorts of shit in attemtps to make sure they stay at their spot in the current hierarchies. If the shit heel politicians wouldn't spend so much time in fighting and sabotaging some while elevating the sycophants they found we wouldnt be aware of near as much of their dirty laundry as we currently are and could go back to living in blissful ignorance of the real inner workings of DC.