A politician’s goal is always to manipulate public debate. I think there are some politicians with higher goals. But all of them get corrupted by power.

The remark expresses a deeply skeptical view of politics as a profession: public debate is framed not as a search for truth or the common good, but as something to be steered and managed for advantage. Koontz allows that some individuals enter politics with “higher goals,” acknowledging idealism and public service as real motives. Yet the final claim—“all of them get corrupted by power”—argues that the structure of political power tends to deform intentions over time, turning even principled actors toward self-preservation, control of narratives, and instrumental use of the public. The quote thus aligns with a recurring theme in Koontz’s work and interviews: distrust of institutions and the moral hazards of authority.