Is it necessary to use circumlocution?

My sister worked in the local senator's office over the summer and she told me an interesting story that happened at her work. Her usual duties at work were to answer phone calls and to respond to the letters and emails from the constituents. And she said when the constituents send a letter or an email, many of them use circumlocution instead of concision. I understand that people use jargons when they talk to professionals, but my sister said that some people try too hard to sound "smart" and end up confusing the readers. Why is it that some people try so hard to sound "smart" instead of getting the point across?

She also told me that, when responding to those letters, she needs to use certain phrases and words. She says that it is required to use sophisticated, sometimes confusing, language. I understand that a response from a senator must sound professional and sophisticated, but some phrases that she told me, did not even mean anything. Her favorite sentence that she used the most was "citizens like you who get involved truly turn the wheel of our government." If I were the constituent who received such a response, I would not be satisfied. I would want a resolution to the problem I had, not just the appreciation.

She also told me that the responses are very abstract and only shows the appreciation for the constituent's active involvement. I could relate this fact to Hayakawa's statements about politicians. He says that politicians use words at the peak of the abstraction ladder although sometimes doing so results in disrepute and suspicion. Politicians' use of abstract words functions as directives which people propel to support them. I think that a candidate would not specify his ideas in detail for doing so would create more disputes and disagreements if he were not successful in putting his ideas into actions.

-Joanne Park