No, not really. I didn't even really believe Obama, though I was hopeful. I think it was while I was reading Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (about our Indians) that I first realized how far back this goes - the author makes a comment (might even be a quote from a pres, can't remember for sure) that basically says Lincoln tried to institute some positive policies for the Indians, and by the time any of that could even get through the massively slow process of govt, it wouldn't matter because some stupid settler would have been killed or injured and they would have another new fight on their hands. Even with instantaneous information transfer now, nothing is ever going to change enough for us to be able to immediately hang a glowing "Change!" sign on it.


They can, and I am hopeful here again, but I have to be honest - I've done no comparative studies, and am only just now becoming an adult. It may be dismissive, but I think that unless one is a poli sci major (or something touching heavily on politics), it is very hard to understand any of this before one owns cars, homes, pays insurance, etc (you get the point?).


I refuse to vote for a party, but I said to a friend yesterday that if I were only voting based on rhetoric, I'd be solidly democrat. Even though it pisses me off to ignore some of the bullshit coming from the right, I have to make the judgment based on how good or bad I think someone might be for the real stuff. Point is, I'm Independent, but it takes a lot of wading through the shit to figure out my vote. I hate this system.


Haven't done comparative studies. I think you'll probably have to ask me again in a few years. Right now though, I'll say that I think the competency/intelligence/etc of one person only has so much to do with the problem. I can't tell if it's just that I am paying attention, but I definitely feel the polarity of the parties so much more strongly now. I keep wondering if we've gone too far.