How many times have you heard a variation of this narrative?
"The current government is in shambles and has put its own agenda ahead of serving the people of this country/state/province/city. That is why on X Date, we need to elect a proven leader who will affect change and get our government/economy/social order back on track. Together we will overcome obstacles X, Y and Z while continuing to be all things to all people."
The really crazy part about that generic campaign pitch is that people focus in on the validity of the commentary on the incumbent government and rarely spend much time or energy on scrutinizing the overly ambitious plans of the new government. Not every government can be turned around like Apple and (needless to say) not every elected leader can be the next Steve Jobs. Government cannot and never will be able to create a new iPod/iPhone that turns around the fortunes of the enterprise. Governments don't innovate or invest. They spend and manage. Therefore, there is little likelihood of the silver bullet/home run/quick fix that each successive entrant into the political game promises.
Outside challengers usually have one thing right about the incumbent government and that is the part about it being a mess. The problem is, the elected officials only reside over the mess as figureheads. The mess will not go away simply by changing the figureheads.
Here's a new idea for an adult conversation: Why doesn't someone who wants to get elected to public office run on a platform of bringing some stability and good governance to a government before embarking on any additional "improvements". Perhaps an interim period of simple fiscally responsible good governance would set a politician or group of them up to actually achieve some lasting success further down the road because they would no longer be trying to build a house on top of quicksand. All of this is not to say that leaders shouldn't also share long term vision but they must have a viable road map to success in order to achieve such visions.
Failure cannot be a foundation for success. Competency and stewardship might provide a viable base.
CW