I am always surprised by the differences between the US and the rest of the first world. Having followed the argument I do not understand where the difference lies. I would probably end up repeating various explanation comments to no avail.

The excellent Glenn Greenwald also does the same things as poemless has done - ended up in a situation where from his perspective - the rest of the first world looks mighty immoral and the rest of us are sputtering - but, you're not seeing this and this and this... to no avail. (Germany's claim to "universal" power over other countries' citizens)

I can understand the frustrations that people have with poemless' lack of comprehension about multi-party leadership conventions - it seems transparently obvious to me. It brings up something that I think is quite important. That is what is this disconnect between the US and the rest of the first world? This disconnect travels all the way through US politics - from right to left. The only place I haven't yet seen it is in the radical left - wait that's not true. I remember an anarchist feeling that the system of checks and balances was superior to other systems. (Wait a second -your an anarchist!)

Something that poemless (and Glenn Greenwald) see as obvious that all their repeating over and over leaves us scratching our heads in frustration. Hell - I was born and lived in the US for 11 years, and I can't figure it out.

_{aspiring to genteel poverty}