Yesterday Ake said.."You think a Chicago Democrat is interested in changing the system?"

today JohnP said:.."Of course everything is owned and run by the rich."

Even though I see the point of both remarks...and to some extent see the germ of relevance in both of them... I am so weary of ANYONE trying to make serious points with such generalizations. As Don F. indicated, not all Chicago Democrats exhibit the 'classic' mentality of Chicago politics from the middle of the last century.

And ".. everything is owned and run by the rich." is simply inaccurate. Perhaps too MUCH is, and being rich can **tend** to make one feel like being rich is a birthright and helps them justify nefarious ways to stay rich and get richer.
   I SEE all that.. but real understanding of the system is hindered by relying on simplistic slogans and generalizations. It gets wise nods in a session of bitching, but barely scratches the surface of how money, politics, culture, education, media and various personalities interact to form the constantly changing dynamic we encounter when we try to cope...and when we decide how - or whether - to vote!

It simply takes more time than most people are able or willing to devote to sort out the wheat from the chaff in political ads and to listen to 27 different pundits declaim at length on THEIR interpretation.
Often it comes down to deciding which is "the lesser of two evils", even though the concept of 'evil' is never clearly thought out.

What we DO see is that the Republicans are engaged in an amazing game of "Whack-a-Mole" where all the moles AND all the observers have whacking mallets! No one seems to be making the point that they might all be right in their condemnations and characterizations of each other.
I expect that a major portion of the Democratic platform and campaign this year will be to clarify just how the 'problems' and disappointments that people feel did NOT begin with Obama.
There is some doubt these days just how a gen-you-wine honest, committed and competent president/leader CAN manage to juggle 23 balls, figure out what makes sense, gather money, give speeches, gain votes ....and get any sleep.

Gonna be interesting, hmmm?