Does society encourage politicians to be slimy?

I think that it is safe to say that most people accept that politicians have a reputation for being dishonest. Any time in my life that I’ve watched a politician speak, I find that it is painfully obvious that they are being meticulous in saying everything very specifically and carefully, and it’s often clear that it is dishonest. They tell us what we want to hear.

I wonder if we, as a society, were less accepting of this blatant facade… and less concerned with frivolous scandals… if there could be a shift in the political world.

Of course it is more complex than that, but overall do we focus too much on issues like who is cheating on their spouse or who is hiring escorts, rather than getting worked up over some of the blatant bullshitting that goes on? If politicians were less concerned over being publicly humiliated and destroyed, might they be more honest? Or is politics inherently dishonest?