So which came first, the lie or the politician?
I think it depends upon whether one prefers creationism or or the science of evolution to answer the questions we all ponder.
One does not necessarily have to recognize a lie at hand to find a politician, but the simplest of lies could work like Diogenes' Lamp to find a politician.
If one could make a LIAR'S LAMP, flamed in the spirit of Diogenes, one could expose ALL the politicians with one walk through a city, looking for the first Lie.
On the other hand, if no one had ever spoken a word in all of history, finding a politician who could speak would reveal the first of many lies.
I am an evolutionist. I believe that lies could have evolved separately, but politicians could NOT have. I do not think for an instant that the politician could ever have existed, except for the Lie.