I once asked a young small business owner, who you'd think might have a passing interest in political promises, who he'd vote for in an upcoming election. " Whoever I've never heard of," he replied, " because they've told me the fewest lies."
Sad, but understandable. Politicians are so groomed and moulded they've become unbelievable and alien. The hallowed halls of Parliament seem to turn people into UFOs - uninspiring, fudging obfuscators.
But was it always thus?
I was part of the ABC telemovie "Curtin", about John Curtin's Prime Ministership during WW2. The research material provided for the actors included recordings of Curtin's speeches.
If Curtin was alive today, I doubt he'd even win preselection. He was a known alcoholic, albeit a reformed one, he had psoriasis, a lazy eye and was no oil painting, as my mother used to say.
But he was an electrifying, passionate speaker. Even if you disagreed with him, you knew he was sincere.
Curtin wouldn't have been satisfied with ten second sound bites on the news. Free to air television and the tabloids have rendered political discourse obsolete and reduced political coverage to a few misleading headlines. Media moguls don't want us making informed choices, asking hard questions, or interrupting the flow of ads, and the spin doctors turn everything into porridge - without the honey and sultanas.
Apart from the occasional dummy spit during parliamentary sessions, it's all mind-numbingly bland and boring.
Paul Keating, who was a passionate politician, recently accused Labor's advisers of being scared to get out of bed unless a focus group dictated which side. That doesn't only apply to Labor.
Instead of boldly leading the nation, politicians respond to questionable polls, tinkering around the edges. When the PM made his recent announcements about our indigenous citizens, it was the first time I've ever seen him be remotely passionate. {If only he'd decided years ago that anyone who neglected their children should be brought into line, not just aboriginal people.}
Commercial television networks control the political agenda, allowing politicians to get away with far too much. The mainstream media, with the occasional exception of that pesky ABC, don't press too hard, so everyone's nice and comfortable.
But nice and comfortable doesn't cut it with viewers or voters. We are increasingly turned off by commercial television and politics, and rightly so. We deserve better.
I want politicians with passion, who are brave enough to show their feelings. I want them to stop affecting snide, calm rationality, implying that it's ideal behaviour.
And I wish they'd stop telling us that we'll all go to hell in a hand basket if the other side wins. Only children and emotionally stunted adults believe things are black and white.
If the millions spent on simplistic, insulting political ads were instead invested in hospitals, universities and children's welfare, the electorate might just be inspired.
If any party had the vision and courage to simply call a halt to the nonsense, and be real, I'd vote for them - and I'd do it passionately.