Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
горе-политик
English translation:
miserable politician
Russian term
Ukraine
Work in commerce as a forwarder
Native in: Russian 
, Ukrainian
Works in: English to Russian, English to Ukrainian, Spanish to Russian, and 7 more.
горе-политик
Proposed translations
United States
Psychology, economics, politics
Native in: English 
Works in: Russian to English, German to English, English
miserable politician
New Zealand
Fast, consistent, quality translations
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English
a poor excuse for a politician
Ukraine
Professional,reliable,quick translation
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, English to Ukrainian, and 1 more.
a failed politicia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/3919783.stm
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Note added at 1 hr (2009-01-31 08:10:39 GMT)
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"politician" of course
Austria
more than thirty years of experience
Native in: German
Works in: Greek to German, English to German, Greek to English, and 5 more.
a disastrous politician
Moldova
Work for WB, OSCE, UNDP, EU, EC, USAID
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, Romanian to English, and 1 more.
madroit politician
He talked his head off James Davidson on a Life of Cicero, a great orator but maladroit politician.
source: The Sunday Telegraph London | Date: April 1, 2001| Author: JAMES DAVIDSON
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Susan Welsh
: Maladroit is not suitable here. See English dictionary. Means not-good-at. (Note also entry misspelled.)
28 mins
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and what does 'gore-somebody' mean, to your mind? Doesen't 'failed politician', or something of the kind, mean the same thing?
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Better than native
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, German to Russian
clueless politician
a self-proclaimed politician
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Note added at 22 hrs (2009-02-01 04:39:27 GMT)
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мне кажется, можно еще "useless" сказать.
| agree |
David Knowles
: sounds very plausible!
1 hr
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Thank you :)
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| agree |
protolmach
8 hrs
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cпасибо
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DELVING into DETAIL
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian, Russian to English, and 2 more.
an abortion of a politician
wonkette.com/tag/abortion/page/2
Discussion
Another thought: The full phrase given makes clear, it seems to me, that the politicians are actually not bad AT BEING POLITICIANS--in that sense, they are not failed or inept, etc. The point is that they are rotten, no-good, corrupt, self-seeking (like the incompetent economists), and are deliberately inflaming national enmities. They are "good" at being politicians, in the sense of manipulating people to do what they want them to do.
To Anatoliy: This is a great phrase, a fun question.