I don't give a rat's ass WHO'S running in 2016 because...

[dreamnightwind]

28. We're clearly not on the same page

With surprisingly few exceptions, the people in this country have never even heard progressive policies advocated for by a serious candidate. The media certainly doesn't do it. People are told, over and over, how exceptional we are. It's convenient and flattering, so far too many believe it. They rarely if ever see the data that contradicts that narrative, they are never presented with the arguments for alternative (to the trickle-up economy) policies, they never hear as a serious proposition anything that would make a real difference. There are fixes for what ails us, but they are kept off the table, completely, by design.

So we have a very effectively managed and brainwashed population who need to see these issues seriously debated on a big stage, preferably on the tube, since that's still very influential. They need to see someone they respect articulate why these policies are exactly what we need, and how well such policies have worked elsewhere in the world.

There is tremendous potential for change, which is why the powers that be keep the lid on so tightly, why the permissible frames of discussion are limited to the frames acceptable to the corporatists. A great and very simple example is the 99% meme that came out of Occupy. That one thing changed, for awhile, the entire frame of acceptable discussion, because people forcefully advocated for it, spoke intelligently, and because it was a latent truth that was already burning the average American. A good candidate can do this and much much more and we have been denied this for a very long time, hopefully no more.

I think there is nothing more important. There are other ways to go about it than a POTUS candidate, all of which should be pursued, but the presidential race is a powerful vehicle that gets into a lot of heads, especially if it is heavily contested by a good candidate with real and substantial policy differences.