I realise that this is a tricky question, but I think that politicians should act in the best interest of the country for the long run and this may necessitate making unpopular decisions in the short term that may even go against the majority's opinion.

Let's view this from the other side. A politician promises to cut taxes for everyone by an amount of x after being elected. Doing so will require cuts in other budgets. I don't think the majority of people will reason that although it would be nice to have a bit more money in the pocket, it is a better idea to spend that money on say the educational system.

My experience is that very few people are really interested in seing the bigger picture and much fewer even in solving those issues.