"...You've never been in any danger of getting even a slightly left wing president..."

The United States is not a breeding ground for revoltionary Marxists because people can go up or down in wealth and social position with few (if any) restrictions. The usual structure with a small class of rich and powerful and a much larger class of poor (often hopelss) workers is the norm throughout most of the world. Still found in Dicken's books, I guess. In Mexico, most of South America, Saudia Arabia (list is almost endless) there are a few families who are pre-determined to own the businesses and make the politcal decisions. In the US, people who start with very little like Bill Gates, Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, several members of the Walton family, Barbara Sreisand, all four Beatles (at least, at this time, their estates), and many others are billionaires and have a powerful influence on the lives of others.