Public speakers are no longer assessed on moral character

“The orator persuades by moral character when his speech is delivered in such a manner as to render him worthy of confidence; for we feel confidence in a greater degree and more readily in persons of worth in regard to everything in general…” - Aristotle, Rhetoric

This may have held true in Aristotle’s time but certainly does not hold true now. We see in our politicians the desire to pander to the population, to tickle their ears. The population are no better, they want their causes championed and consequences be damned if they support a candidate who is morally bankrupt to get it.