>>But we blame the politicians, because they're supposed to show leadership.

Here's a quote from Tamra, fictional future Princess of Tonga and then Queen of all Humanity:

"Once upon a time, democrats overthrew monarchs for the promise of freedom. What a laugh! As if responsibility and accountability were something people wanted for themselves! Freedom means finding somebody else to worry about all the little details for you, and all the big details you're too immersed in your own life to see. People don't want a dictator, obviously. Quite the contrary: they want a dictatee, a conscripted functionary who can be endlessly blamed and imposed upon. It is democracy, for all but the monarch herself."

(Thought it might be helpful to provide a slightly shorter explanation from another fictional character apart from John Galt. ;-) )