Why has it become the case that people have to choose "the least bad candidate" whenever they vote for a politician? ?

Can you think of a more thankless job than holding public office?

When you run for office, they claim that you are the second coming of Karl Marx or Jefferson Davis and slander your spouse, your kids, and your parents  If you win, at the local starter level, for minimal (if any) pay, you deal with non-stop calls about the potholes on the caller's street or how the teacher is being mean to little Johnny.  

If you actually try to do the job and implement any substantial change, your proposal will be twisted by those who benefit from the status quo, and you will likely be voted out of office at the first opportunity.  So the ones who survive to run for offices like Mayor, Governor, and Congress tend to be the ones that either appeal to people's worse instincts or are satisfied with not doing anything to stand out from the crowd..  

And you can't blame the two-party system because, in a lot of the country, local government is elected in non-partisan election (i.e. no primaries and no party labels on the ballot).  There is not a lot of difference in the quality of the elected officials in Houston (non-partisan elections) and New York City (partisan elections)

Its always been that way...

It's the two party stranglehold on our elections and the fact that a party won't back a candidate unless that candidate brings his/her own war chest (and you have to be in bed with special interests to get that war chest). There's no room for normal, honest people in politics anymore. 

Every election there are people affected this way but they may like someone in the next election. It's been like that always. The same election also includes people who like both/either candidates. You can write in your choice. Write your name in there ... sounds to me like you're so critical, you must think you can do better.

For the most, no one knows the candidates. People only Read What Others say the person is, and of course the candidate acts and show the face they want the hoi polloi to see.

This is the reason the people should only elect their own consuls,

The rest of higher groups should be elected from and by their lower groups.

Example: My Mum said Her cousin's daughter worked for Bobby Kennedy, and said he was a Foul Mouthed micromanaging tyrant.  You don't see that in any sources.

What do you know of Tammany Hall, is it back? Is it now Federal?

It's because our political system favors the dishonest and unprincipled...

so much so that normally it's impossible for someone not of that "cut" to win an election.

That is: you pretty much can't get elected without lying to the voters

and it's very advantageous for a candidate to engage in other sorts of nefarious behavior

such as mud-slinging

and campaign finance..."irregularities"

and cover-ups.

That argument is employed by the party who cons you into believing they'll make policies to help you prosper.

In essence they want power.

Power is quicker to grab, if both parties imitate same policy, to reward the wealthy, to keep the rest from climbing the ladder.

No ladder means the rich don't have to compete. To deliver!

The politicians sit back and rake it in!

Why not ditch both the dead beat parties!

Who are only In it to serve their already deep pockets!

To service the 1%. If you're not in the top 1% they'll only want to court you when they need to pick your pocket, or your vote!

Where do you live cupcake?  Trailer park in Wyoming.

I'm from Portland, unlike what Proud Boy's Andy Ngo tells you brain dead Republican dolts it's a fine city and not a total war zone.  Neither is Chicago the place I currently live and I've been to Seattle its not smoking ash.

Where you sniveling snowflakes gonna hide in seven days, crawl back to 8chan and jerk off to Matt Gaetz girlfriends?

Could be both that the Republican and the Democratic Parties are covers for two organized crime syndicates and we just get to vote for which crime syndicate will let us keep more of our own money or which crime syndicate will give us more of other peoples money as they all become extremely wealthy.

Seems to me that most every politician in Washington should be featured on the TV program, "American Greed".

It doesn't matter. Politicians are all bought and controlled by the same people.