So, does Rahm's victory in Chicago tell us anything?

[Maedhros]

143. I have a friend very much like you.

He prefers to reduce all discussion to semantic arguments to avoid the need to think about unpleasant subjects.

What I do is largely irrelevant - elections involve very large groups of people. If elections were about issues, and if the electorate understood those issues, then I'd be more inclined to lend credence to your argument. But they are not, and it doesn't. In our system votes are not earned by politicians with superior ideas. Rather, votes are harvested from a barely-aware mass of distracted citizens, by armies of pollsters, image architects, market analysts, and spin doctors. They present fictional characters to the populace and tell us lies about them, and the best lies win. As voters, our effect on the political system is nil (http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9354310).

Of course, there is much to be gained by convincing others that the status quo is just fine and nothing needs to be changed.