This seems unnecessarily elitist. I mean, I would be glad if I could get away with just discussing theory and ideas, but reality and practical matters gets in the way. We vote for people, we evaluate people from events.
One thing is to discuss how candidate X chooses to dress, whether candidate Y cheated on their partner, or how candidate Z looked so stupid in that incident yesterday. Another very different thing is to discuss candidate X's personal background (and how it makes them more likely to understand a given issue), that candidate Y does not practice what they preach (and probably cannot be trusted), or that candidate Z has owned up to their screw-up yesterday (and self-criticism is a good trait for leadership).
The frustration is, why is gossip and conspiracy lifelines necessary for topics that most people should have no issue discussing? You really can’t add anything without that stuff?
Anyways, I heard Hunter Biden is a drug addict, and Putin has cancer, and that’s why he’s invading Ukraine.
Having a topic under discussion is hardly "gossip" or a "conspiracy lifeline".
Politicians generally channel ideas in order to get elected - and then screw everyone over once they have power for 4 years.