Why is this a problem? Well, when a politician is treated as though he is above being criticized or questioned, he or she will have no reason not to think that they can push any agenda they want. With a compliant media which won't ask the tough questions, and an adoring or inattentive public which thinks their hero is more or less infallible, there is little accountability. And it is this sort of environment in which a leader can become arrogant, and begin to believe in his own greatness and flawlessness. This, no matter how good their intentions were to begin with, will always end badly.
As I watched the American election and its aftermath with interest, I heard several commentators- all women- suggest that women who didn't vote for Hillary Clinton were self-loathing. As a woman, I can't tell you how frustrating I find this; the idea that my political opinions must be defined for me by my gender, that because I'm female, I am incapable of examining the issues and candidates and making a decision which may differ from that of other women without there being something wrong with me, is beyond insulting. Nor should it be assumed that all black people, or Jews, or um, Mormons- you get the idea- will all think and vote the same way. If you ask me, this attitude really is sexist and racist, and those are terms which I don't throw around lightly.
So those are my thoughts on Keeper Of The Flame; it's a little heavy-handed at times, but is also thought-provoking, and examines several issues which still plague politics today... probably even more so than then.