No, it is just that I’ve been having this argument about the American political system for decades, notably the various times I’ve lived in other countries. It just gets tiring.
The US political system is largely unchanged - in some ways better - than it was 150 years ago. The candidates it delivers are for the most part the candidates the people want, or believe they want.
The fact that the system is big, unwieldy, and moves slowly is a feature; at the same time that it is hard to bring about progress, it is likewise hard to bring about regress. Things like social progress are initiatied outside of government, then it eventually kicks in and gives this progress the force of law - there are faster ways to do this, and possibly even better ones, but that isn’t obvious.
Some flaws that people like to point out - for example, the problems with FPTP voting, or the electoral college - seem really telling, and certainly make 3rd party candidacies or proportional representation difficult, but the simplicity and transparency of FPTP (as opposed, for example, to STV) is a feature in a country like ours.
We have some terrible, terrible people involved in politics, as well as others interfering with politics. There are also some good people, but maybe that’s easier for someone in my state and district to say. The system itself is robust and transparent and self-healing, and I think that goes a long way to making up for the fact that it is inertial and less representative than it might be.
