That a coach plays to win, doesn't settle much. Coaches, especially your average HS coach, is pretty short of being infallible. I've seen coaches seriously misjudge the players on their teams for one reason or another.
No coach is infallible. Misjudging talent is far from being politics. That coach's intent is still to play to win. Also, the judging of talent is pure opinion. Just because someone's opinion is different from the coach's, doesn't mean that the coach's judgement is wrong. There could be other factors that an outsider doesn't see that are part of the coach's decision making process.
A coach trying to win, may place his faith in certain players and give them lots of rope to hang themselves with, while putting other players on a much shorter leash.
I have seen this as well. Usually it is a matter of the trust that a coach has in certain players and a lack of trust he has in other players. Sometimes this is justified and sometimes it is not. Either way, it is not a sign that the coach is not playing to win or that politics are involved. If a player is on the side of the coin where trust is not being shown, keep working and earn that trust from the coach.
I don't think ANY coach is infallible. The issue in the thread is whether coaches play to win or if they play to politics. I believe far and away that coaches play to win and politics do not enter the equation. Whether someone agrees or disagrees with the decisions a coach makes is a different issue and I don't think it has anything to do with whether a coach is playing to win or not.