There are some seriously dumb people out there. More than some, actually. IMO stupid people form the majority. Politicians, for all their screwups, ARE actually endowed with an above average education. I'm 100% certain that Joe Blow in political office would seriously screw it up even more.

The reason I like "Proportional Representation" is because it may reduce the perception of politicians lousing it up. That's because they won't be implementing unpopular policies anymore. Half the controversial news items today are due to this problem. The party gains power on one or two "selling points", and then rams through a whole slew of other policies too. For the next 4 years they're making headlines!