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I think it's interesting how it's 'outsiders' who seem to be successful speaking their mind in our current political system. But once they need to build a warchest to actually get elected, the intelligent people seem to have to prostitute themselves and their ideas/ideals to raise enough $$$ to survive the election cycle. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Paul Hackett, and hope he can afford to continue to speak so plainly.
Consider Newt Gingrich and Al Gore. Once they left the Machiavellian cesspool which is United States partisan politics, they seemed to reengage a portion of themselves that could not be loosed while they were in political office - In Newt's case, he has some interesting ideas about health care, which he can state without hyperbole now that his job isn't flogging the Republican party line, regardless of the intelligence of the content. Gore found his voice (and his balls) speaking about both the environment AND the state of American politics once he was no longer inside 'the system' and could speak his own mind.
Wouldn't it be great if our politicians could actually use their brains, speak their minds! while they're IN OFFICE?
