Political Hopelessness, Or Just Facing Reality?

and perhaps one side of me shares your pessimism. But you're right, that we need a new does of truth, that "the voting public will actually have to become knowledgeable about political philosophies and their consequences, and about human nature."

Capitalism is based on the fundamental truths about human nature, that mankind is generally motivated by self-interest, that people generally do what they think will advance their own situation the most, relative to the effort they expend. Thus in order to increase the "wealth of nations" one must create a system that provides incentives for productivity. What few seem to realize is that the "regulators" and "the government" is still jsut a bunch of self-interested people who will use the means within their power to...advance their own situation the most, relative to the effort they expend. The difference in socialism/central control and capitalism: socialism places the coercive power of the state (cops, army, etc.) in the hands of a few, while capitalism deprives any person of any power over another and thus he has to resort to arms-length bargaining with others of equal power in order to achieve any advancement. Within that one has freedom to succeed, whih is only possible if there is also freedom to fail.

Capitalism is the only moral choice, the only one that respects God-given freedom.

Cheer up, the Audacious One is over-reaching and I believe we will see a backlash like '94, when repairs can begin.

I attended a Tea Party rally on July 2 on the courthouse steps in my small city. There were about 200 people present. We had some good speakers, and I felt as though I wasn't alone. It's just that once someone gets into the political machine, no matter how good his or her intentions were to atart, they just get absorbed, assimilated, into the workings of the whole political culture. As with the Borg on Star Trek: The Next Generation, resistance is futile.
The only hope I see at this juncture is, as you say, that the President has indeed over-reached, and the backlash will hit hard in 2010 and 2012. But only if the electorate wake up.