If there is no set of observations and arguments conceivable that would either validate or refute such an argument in the public sphere that says something basic about our polity. Are the similarities or the differences between the current USA and the former Soviet Union the most significant elements of a comparison? It took the fall of the Soviet Union for many of the activities that were widely suspected to have been occurring to be confirmed. Is that the most important similarity?

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."