Are Politicians Ordinary Folk?

The Sharecrazy bulletin board has been buzzing of late with comment
about some of Tony Blair's colleagues resigning. Some posters
who may not be being too cynical, speculate to the effect that the
resignations are based not so much on honour but rather upon
currying favour with Gordon Brown (or other successor) and
parrying for position in the successor's post Blair administration.

Such public actions by politicians risk engendering cynicism
about the whole political process.

Yet the same politicians
in their private lives may be entirely different.
Out of the public eye they may be much more like "ordinary folk". Certainly that
resonates with my personal experiences of politicians. They can appear to be and
indeed may be, very decent in their private or personal
dealings with people yet can be or seem to
be so hideous in their public dealings.

I recall some years back at the height of the Ireland "troubles"
mrs maytrees, myself and our then new born baby, meeting Ian Paisely by chance on Lindisfarne Island.
He chatted and made all the right noises about the baby.
Despite our innate prejudices (cradle RCs) we found him far less hideous than his public personam had left us to believe. Subsequent research of Irish friends too confirmed that
privately his actions were often good;
eg he would take up housing difficulties for 'Nationalists'
'Catholics' 'Protestants'or whatever on housing merits
rather than the Unionist/political divide.
Yet his apparent intransigent, uncompromsing, stance in public is well known.
So perhaps imho it is in some respects with TBlair