In the analogy, you yourself can tell whether you've arrived in Paris, France or Paris, Texas. In politics, you do need someone else to continue to identify whether the bills up for consideration are positive or negative from your perspective, and if you don't have a trustworthy figure doing so, you do end up in a a pickle.

But the key point is: I don't suggest or assume it should be the politicians themselves who tell you where you've ended up and who has brought you there. It's the activists and politicos of the world I look to.