Campaigning in poetry; governing in prose

The British newspaper “The Independent” reminds us of an adage that both conservatives and liberals would do well to remember:

“An old American aphorism has it that politicians campaign in poetry, but govern in prose. We can be sure that the poetry will continue to flow from an orator as gifted as President Obama. But now begins the difficult task of getting the prose right too.”

Or do we need to govern in poetry too? I’m thinking that I reject the dichotomy.