During the 2008 U.S. presidential race, then-Democratic nominee Barack Obama made a long line of promises – both during the party primaries and the national election – under the banner "Yes, We Can."
The man who went on to become 44th president obviously did not fulfill all of his campaign pledges; in interviews during his final year in office Obama explained that he tried to keep all his promises but was hampered by his political rivals in the GOP.
In the U.S., the head of state is directly elected and forms a cabinet in line with his own wishes and without cooperation from any other parties.
However, his actions and policies are subject to the approval of the House and the Senate, where sometimes the rival party may have a majority in one of the institutions.
Israel's political situation is far more complicated, considering that people vote for a party and not an individual.
As a result, the person entrusted with the formation of the government must take into account promises made by other parties to their own constituencies often at the cost of their own electoral pledges.
During his time as finance minister Levi Eshkol uttered his famous expression: "I promised, but I didn't promise to do it."
Politicians today could wash their hands of various campaign pledges by saying, "I promised, but couldn't go through with it."
Politicians should be worried that not following through on promises will put their position at risk. Take for example the famous statement made by then-U.S. President George Bush in 1988: "Read my lips, no new taxes."
But the new taxes did come and Bush's opponent was elected instead 1992.
Parties keep handing out what are essentially empty promises to voters, simply because their strategists' singular goal is to win.
Do politicians rely on the stupidity and short-term memory of the masses, which expires on the day after the election?
Blue & White's Moshe Ya'alon, known as an honest politician, recently admitted that his party's pledge to form a "secular government" during the last elections merely stemmed from "electoral reasoning."
He probably thinks the public is smart enough to understand that campaigns are a fairy tale for adults; he knows the fairy tales aren't real, but it's entertaining when they show up on campaign ads.
And if everyone lies, then who can we trust? This is the decision that the people of Israel must make: determine who's the reliable liar and who is the unreliable liar.