Niccolo Machiavelli was an eminent Italian author and statesman who in his best-known work, The Prince, described the means by which government may gain and maintain its power. He recommended that politicians be ever scheming and calculating about political gain and authority. He allowed the conclusion that politics has nothing to do with morals, ethics, or religion. Many American politicians seek to gain the support of the electorate by any conceivable methods. They coax and cajole the voters, and if this is ineffective, they resort to deception and empty promises.
Promises are useful things, both to keep and, when expedient, to break.
The Machiavellian inclinations of many American politicians find intellectual support from the people who would make government the arbiter of economic life. Once in power and at the levers of political control, politicians are likely to serve their own selfish ends. They seek success by saying what people believe, or can be made to believe, rather than what is demonstrably true. They think of the next election, rather than of the next generation. They look for the success of their party rather than that of their fellow men.