What I saw up close was more revealing. Giuliani was smart, demanding, and cerebral, but he also had a penchant for drama and a complicated personal life. Growing up, we learned a simplified version of history in which elected officials were impervious to temptation and portrayed mostly as morally righteous patriots. He shattered that illusion.

I learned hard and fast that the people we elect are flawed and will most certainly disappoint us. This is, of course, the human condition. Candidates will be imperfect, but seeing complexity over time creates discernment and an understanding that there are some lines that cannot and should not be crossed.

As political operatives, we should ask ourselves the same fundamental questions we ask the candidates we run. We demand that they know who they are and how to articulate the principles they hold near and dear—why shouldn’t the same be expected of us?

This has not been an easy lesson, and I admit there have been times when my personal ambition came first. It took time to stake out the lines I knew I couldn’t cross. One of those lines was supporting Trump. By 2016, I’d worked for Chris Christie for nearly a decade across his governorship and campaigns. I had come to admire his strengths while recognizing his shortcomings, and ultimately deeply respected his judgment and fundamental decency. Yet I publicly split with him on endorsing Trump. This moment didn’t invalidate the years of good work we did together. Instead, it was a moment where I had to hold myself accountable.

We don’t have to work for just anybody. In fact, we might be better off if we collectively decided to say no to candidates who don’t meet our own standards. We’ve gotten into the habit of using the bad behavior of “the other side” to justify more of the same. We should keep close the belief that there are core values that define good leadership, like moral character and sound judgment. These traits must be balanced with the realities of human imperfection.

We are living with the politics we’ve created, or at least the politics we’ve perpetuated. The question is often “how did we get here?”; the more apt question would be “how are we still here?”

Christie answered this in his speech announcing the suspension of his 2024 presidential campaign: “I let the ambition get ahead and in control of the decision-making.” Christie went further, suggesting that those in politics who put personal ambition ahead of what’s right “will ultimately have to answer the same questions that I had to answer…Those questions don’t ever leave. In fact, they’re really stubborn.”

Turns out this applies not just to those who seek or hold office, but also to those of us who play a part in helping them get there. Using the cover of “winning at all costs” is a slow walk of justifying behavior in the name of partisan interests. It is an easy excuse, but it does not absolve us of responsibility for the ugly political landscape before us.