So funny thing about that...
When I came out of the desert, without going into a bunch of details, some folks (a major lobbyist group in my state, and other states) thought I would be a good fit for public office (such as Sheriff). They sponsored me to "Campaign School". It was extremely interesting, on many levels. The people who attended, the strategies it took to win, etc. One thing that I found pretty funny was the very vast majority of the people attending thought that all they had to do was simply sit there for the week and not pay attention.
It was very much a room full of narcissists. However the guy that had been flown in to teach the class laid a few things out at the beginning. He was not there to be our friends. We needed to pay close attention to what we were being taught, as we were expected to know the material he presented. We may not like his methods, but if we followed his formula exactly as he taught it, right down to what side of the road to place signs, color and height, times, dates, etc, we had a 90 something % chance of being successful. He also said that there would be a test at the end of the week. Out of about 15 people attending, only myself and one other guy were literally taking notes and paying attention. The rest were so self absorbed it was stunning.
When the time came for the test, the vast majority were pissed that they were not given the answers and nobody was kissing their ass. You could see that they were the type that had been handed everything their entire lives and this was to be no different. The guy was brutal with them. It was funny.
While I passed the school with ease, since I actually paid attention, I was so disgusted with the whole process, and the levels people were willing to go to get elected (even as a Sheriff) that I decided that I would stay in the shadows. I appreciated that I was thought of for public office, but I did not have the stomach for what some people were willing to do.