Quotation compilations are filled with jabs at lawmakers, as deep thinkers complain about the cravenness, venality and opportunism of politicians. Journalist H.L. Mencken complained that a "good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar." Napoleon Bonaparte supposedly quipped that "in politics stupidity is not a handicap." I've known good, honest and smart politicians, but my main beef is their overall lack of humility.
Not so much personal humility, but a sense of limits on what government can accomplish. California is notoriously absurd on this front, as our top politicians routinely make grandiose pronouncements. Their latest ban will change the trajectory of Earth's climate patterns! They will stand up to greed and Other Evil Forces! Every one of them aspires to sound like John F. Kennedy.
