You get what you pay for.

My father was not an educated man but a wise man, and he used to say all the time that a person gets what they pay for. I always use this saying not only with the purchase of any product but also in politics. The intellectual money we spend is in the form of how we vote and who we elect. The only thing is that most people do more research on the products they buy then the people they elect. If you were to see an advertisement about say - a refrigerator or car or house, would you just purchase that item blind? Then why do we as voters just take what we may read in a letter to the editor or a mailer we get about one candidate over another. Don't we owe it to ourselves to check out the truth and not go by who we want to have a beer or coffee with; or who we would like to be next door neighbors with. I don't know about you but most people I have a beer or coffee with and for that matter some of my neighbors are not qualified for elected life. Now good people mind you - but maybe not leadership quality.
Voters tend to believe the people who distort the truth. The candidates who state they will "lower taxes" or "never raise taxes" will always get the vote over the candidate who may tell you that in hard economic times taxes may need to go up. But after the "no taxes" candidate gets in and realizes taxes need to go up - well he lied - but he got elected. This is one good case of getting what you pay for. If taking the time to study the two candidates you may have learned that the "no taxes" was the only idea the one candidate had - and now its shot.
Sometimes we have to swallow the sour pill and move on. If the end result is going to make things better in the long run, then maybe as voters we take the chance to hear bad news from a candidate who may have other alternatives to fix the bad situation.
Wake up people, and just as you look up in Consumer Reports about that toaster you want to buy, also research the candidate you want to vote for. Just like you will not fall for any tricks of a commission salesperson, don't fall for the trick of the political salesperson, the candidate. Anyone who is secure in their beliefs will want you to research their claims - and will back them up. Listen to the bad news, because from the bad comes good.
Finally; if the say it true and you "get what you pay for", make sure you get the best product possible, and not one that is too good to be true.