Some very interesting points there Moods & STM.
Moods: it's not just in the US that people have lost faith in politicians. I find that in the UK now there seems to be very little to choose between the three main parties and their policies (or lack of them). Thirty years ago we had proper politicians: people like Margaret Thatcher, Michael Foot, Tony Benn and Norman Tebbitt. Personally, I loathed Thatcher and her government, but at least it was never in doubt what their policies were. Nowadays all politicians seem to have been reduced to a bunch of faceless grey suits, manipulated (as you say) by Big Business - and currently led by the most faceless grey suit of them all, Gordon Brown - a man with absolutely no detectable personality whatsoever.
STM: Unfortunately, many people who have never been to the States or even met an American do get the impression that Yanks are "fat, uneducated, overbearing...etc.", and some most certainly are, but I think that the fact that Obama is currently leading in the polls can only be a good sign.
And let's not forget that any nation that gave the world Bob Dylan and Jack Daniels can't be all bad...
PS: 91st post! Woo-hoo!!
