No. This country is run by a bunch of rubes who convince everyone else they Know Better Than You. They make the issues complicated enough that only a Professional Politician(TM) can wade through the quagmire (giggitty!) that is American politics. They've set up the electoral system such that it is controlled by the two major parties, who are controlled by special interest groups with money.
It all started when corporations were given the same legal protections as "persons." A corporation can't vote, but it CAN donate money, and in larger sums than private induhviduals: and the politicians they support write campaign finance laws in such a way as to encourage larger "soft money" donations by these guys.
The Moral High Ground some of these people claim is a farce. Edward Kennedy cares less about the poor, underprivileged minorities than where the next exclusive prime rib buffet is going to be held. And as for the leaders of the religious right... you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and hypocrasy.
Seriously. When I go on road trips through the Bible Belt, it amuses me how billboards proclaiming that Jesus is Lord alternate with the billboards pronouncing "We Bare All." A Tennesseean friend of mine once told me the difference between the Catholics and Baptists in Chattanooga is that the Catholics will greet each other in the liquor store.
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