( CNN ) -- The Iowa caucus is Tuesday and so far , this shaky bunch of challengers has done a better job of telling us why Obama should not be re-elected than telling us why they would be any better . And yet , one of these candidates must be declared the winner , which is a big reason why 70 % of Americans want the election to be over even before it officially begins . Yeah , a lot of voters have already made up their minds based upon party affiliation , but I believe most Americans dread being manipulated for 10 more months by an onslaught of isolated statistics , abbreviated facts and slick campaign ads . We 're sick of the bull -- but it seems you have to be knee deep in it in to vote , and covered head-to-toe to run . Which is why politics is dirty and Washington stinks . Remember when then-Sen. Obama promised to change all that ? Sure the cantankerous tea party did n't help , but really we knew that `` hope and change '' was n't going to happen shortly after questions about his faith began to dog him in 2007 and voters wondered if he was a Muslim . The president Obama promised to be would have said , `` This is America , where we have freedom of religion and the fact that this is being used as a way to characterize me as unfit to be president is not only religious bigotry , it 's unconstitutional and un-American . '' However , the politically savvy candidate handled such rumors by reiterating he was a Christian , which left many dissatisfied because he played the game almost as soon as he promised not to . Which is why the compromises he 's made over the past three years should not come as a surprise . That does n't make him a bad president or a bad person . It just makes him a politician . And while the message of his first campaign hypnotized many to believe he was n't , the reality is the word `` politician '' is in every sentence of the president of the United States ' job description . So for all of you folks in Iowa as well as New Hampshire and South Carolina who are jazzed up over the piety of Rick Santorum , business smarts of Mitt Romney or the whatever of whomever , keep this in mind : The question in national politics is n't which candidate is best suited to lead but rather which candidate is going to mislead the least , because they all do it . Early and often . A cursory glance at the record and statements of the GOP candidates as well as President Obama shows a heap of flip-flops . Backtracking . Beltway bipartisanship , which does not reflect a politician 's ability to get along with the folks across the aisle but rather the propensity for Democrats and Republicans to say , do and vote however they think they need to stay in the building . Keep their seat . Get in office . I do n't regret voting for Obama , especially considering that Sen. John McCain 's way of playing the game could have resulted in putting Sarah Palin within a heartbeat of the presidency , but I would n't classify myself as an Obama supporter either . I 'm not a supporter of any politician or party , for that matter . I 'm a supporter of ideas . I 'm a supporter of principles , none of which should be dumbed down to religious practices , contingent on polls or assigned to a specific party because at the end of the day , they 're after one thing : self preservation . `` What 's best for the country ? '' is really just a campaign slogan . For example , the Democrat-controlled 111th Congress can rewrite history any way they want , but voters can see they did not pass a comprehensive budget in 2009 because they did not want to make decisions that could be used against Democrats up for re-election in 2010 . This is also the reason why the Congress waited until after the midterm election to overturn `` do n't ask , do n't tell . '' Or look how the professorial Newt Gingrich told us Herman Cain would be a good president , even though we all witnessed Cain struggle to talk intelligently about Libya , China or even huge chunks of the United States . Santorum massaged his stance on abortion and endorsement of Romney in 2008 once he decided to run for president himself . Rick Perry called the stimulus package a failure while neglecting to talk about how he used stimulus money to balance his state 's budget and create the jobs he talks so much about . Meanwhile , Romney , who made millions in no small part by laying off thousands of Americans for a living , calls himself a job creator . I do n't even think Yoda would have tried a Jedi mind trick like that . And yet there he is and here they are : our choices for 2012 . I do n't know about you but all I want is a stronger economy and not to be blown up by Iran or a crazy guy with a bomb sewn into his tighty-whities . Seems like a simple request but as we all know , there 's very little about running a country with more than 300 million people and the world 's largest economy that is simple . Or from the look of things , honest . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson .
LZ Granderson : 70 % of Americans wish the election was over . He says people are n't looking forward to 10 months of manipulative ads and pitches . Politicians from President Obama on down compromise principles for political gain , he says . Granderson : What gets lost in the battle ? The best interests of the nation .