Sure, they tell you what you want to hear while in "election mode" and when they are safely in office again, they go back to the most important work in their lives...insuring they get elected again. How? By telling the sheep what they want to hear again.
Strict term limits will help to turn the tide but won't be the complete answer. The only true means to cleanse our filthy, corrupt political system is to pay each citizen their gross income in cash and at the end of each year make them pay ALL taxes back to the government from the cash they received. Only then, will the sheep realize the folly of voting time and time again for the same career politician. The rage and howls of anger would be staggering.
Remove the "smoke and mirrors" and let the people see what they really get.
Or, alternatively, we could teach accounting as fundamental knowledge that each student must have before graduating from high school...