Wisdom from Fareed

"As it enters the 21st century, the United States is not fundamentally a weak economy, or a decadent society. But it has developed a highly dysfunctional politics. An antiquated and overly rigid system to begin with--about 225 years old--has been captured by money, special interests, a sensationalist media, and ideological attack groups. The result is ceaseless, violent debate about trivia--politics as theater--and very little substance, compromise, and action. A "can-do" country is now saddled with a "do-nothing" political process, designed for partisan battle rather than problem solving. By every measure--the growth of special interests, lobbies, pork-barrel spending--the political process has become far more partisan and ineffective over the last three decades."

-- Fareed Zakaria, "The Post-American World"