That in itself says a great deal about where this lecture would take us. Politics is supposed to be the action of running a government, not a job. But that is what Weber is advocating. He talks about politicians who become so entrenched in the battlefield of politics that they often forget that they are supposed to be working for the good of the whole and tend to work for the good of themselves and their friends.
This sort of observation is expressed on page 90, "Anyone who wishes to engage in politics at all, and particularly anyone who wishes to practice it as a profession, must become conscious of these ethical paradoxes and of his own responsibility for what may become of him under the pressure they exert." Now this particular quote is actually talking more about the adverse effects politics as a vocation can have on them but this is often used to justify their corruption. They side with particular factions in order to try to protect themselves from these paradoxes. They believe that these factions can in some way save them. In their minds it is normally justified, to those they hurt in the process, not so much.
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I agree with you about what Weber's saying. I mean, our own history is full of examples of cronyism, and Weber himself points out the Spoils System of Jackson (when will that guy stop being a problem?). But I think as much as Weber points out problems, he's no wholly pessimistic.
First of all, Jackson will never go away. He's definitely not wholly pessimistic but he is very clear that the students need to reevaluate their idealized view of politics.
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