Does anyone else really hate this election?

[Torie]

Way too much gloom and doom there, Al, with your quite sweeping - yet devoid of anecdotal examples to attempt to carry some of their weight - statements, but yes I am more in agreement with your hyperbole about Obama than your hyperbole about Romney.

[Torie]

Obama and Romney:  This is what we get when the cultural elite, the self-assured "Masters of the Universe", are equal parts arrogant and ignorant.

I wish for the day when Americans will be little impressed by an Ivy League resume or law school-trained oratory, but most of the commenters here leave me little hope that will change before it's "too late".

Getting kind of personal aren't we?  

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Do you have an anti-intellectual streak?  Just asking. I am darn proud of my degree my from the University of Chicago. I consider it the one of my great accomplishments in life. It was not easy. In fact, it was the most difficult thing I have ever done intellectually. The first year was hell - just hell. Granted, it is not "Ivy League," but whatever.

[Torie]

No WhyteRain, the toughest year for me was my first year of undergraduate college. Law school was a piece of cake for me in general. My brain I guess is just suited to that sort of mental work or something. Business school I found ridiculously easy. There I got straight A's without breaking a sweat. In part that was because the intellectual caliber of the students was considerably lower in general, so there was less competition.

[Torie]

What I particularly dislike is the argument that since the Congressional lawmaking process's byzantine structure and surplus of veto points make it unreasonable to expect more major change to take place within that process, the right thing to do is to enthusiastically support a party and president that devote all their energy to trying to change things within that same process and basically none to changing it.

Yes, exactly this. Great post.

I agree as well. We need a parliamentary system like the UK, where there is one party in power typically, who is held accountable for their actions, because they do have the power to change things. Our system is indeed a byzantine mess for historical reasons - with the filibuster just exacerbating it all. What happens is that there is no clear accountability all too often, as everyone can point fingers at everyone else over the process, while nothing gets done about pressing problems that need addressing, until matters get into an in extremis state.

[Torie]

What I particularly dislike is the argument that since the Congressional lawmaking process's byzantine structure and surplus of veto points make it unreasonable to expect more major change to take place within that process, the right thing to do is to enthusiastically support a party and president that devote all their energy to trying to change things within that same process and basically none to changing it.

Yes, exactly this. Great post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/17/harry-reid-promises-filibuster-reform-if-dems-win-the-election/

The "reforms" Reid wants will accomplish exactly nothing vis a vis the filibuster. In the end, there will be one filibuster vote on every substantive bill. It is just pre substantive procedural filibusters that he wants to kill off. I have a post about it somewhere.