A Layman’s Guide to Political Naiveté

Mayor Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammer) sits like a spider at the center of Chicago’s web of power; a web built on a covenant with the people. They want to be led, they want disputes settled, jobs dispensed, and loyalties rewarded. If he achieves through deception and troubling morality, so be it. As long as he gets the job done, they look the other way.

Captivating…      Intriguing…      Believable…

Is this an example of American Politics?  Some might say it is while other might declare it is not, and those who are undecided need more time to think…  Is this statement an example of American Politics?  And, this vicious cycle repeats itself year after year after year.

Political power, at one time was gained at the local level, knocking on doors, telling stories, getting the “word” out to the people.  At one time, political power was gained because very few of the potential voters actually voted.  At one time, political power was gained due to a third party candidate taking votes away from the other two.  Is this an example of American Politics?

And sometimes, political power could be gained simply by spending the most money, and had very little to do with the candidate capabilities:  an expensive popularity contest.

In our recent past, political power was gained because of the “dirty tricks” played by the other party by political action committees.  Former President Nixon paid the price for gaining too much of that political power, proving the phrase, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  And, we all know that this is not an example of American Politics, or is it?  Or, are the Kennedy’s an example of American Politics carving out historical significance like a surgeon extracting a tumor from the brain of the electorate.

Yet, we all know that only the wealthy can play in our American Political waters regardless of the sun’s reflection on the clear liquid; an elite group of people who have to hired by us to decide our fate and our destiny, most of whom we know very little about except that which we are told, if we are naïve enough to believe.  And, naïve we all must be, especially in recent years because American Political Power seems to be getting farther and farther away from the people who gave the power in the first place.

American Political Power is an oligopoly, a market form in which our political industry is dominated by only a few players: our 2 political parties and sometimes we have a 3^rd choice but it reminds me of the early years of the Ford Motor company when Henry Ford said the buyer could have any color Model T car that they wanted as long as it was black.

Excuse me if I am wrong, but to me, American Political Power should represent the “average” American not simply those who have the wealth and power which it gravitates towards today and this is American Politics and Boss seems to emulate it very well, except for one big difference.  In Boss, Kane gets the job done whereas in the “real world” of American Politics no side seems to be getting the job done.