Originally Posted by Mantus

You are both right. So how can it be fixed?

Maybe the only way to fix federal politics is for people to focus on local politics.

I don't know about you guys but as someone who grew up in a big city: local politics was rarely discussed in my social circles. I don't think I've ever known who my local councilman was.

A part of this is the anti-social-keep-to-yourself big city mindset. The other culprit is the media who are often national in scope and only cover local stories when there is blood involved.

The more I think about the more I believe that federal representation can never work. Local politics isn't clean. It's as petty and corrupt as any other institution but at least you can shake hands with the person you elected into office. You can ask your neighbor about credibility of a candidate. Local politicians are tied to their neighborhoods. It's harder to steal someone's tax dollars when your kids go to school together.

Federal politics is too big of a picture for people to grasp. Yet the media keeps trying to push a bigger picture. Now days thanks to networks like CNN there is even global politics to consider. There is nothing wrong with knowing what's going on in Libya but if you are like me and know more about a country on the other side of the world than what's going on in your own back yard something has gone terribly wrong. This is where the foundation of democracy falls apart.

We can't fix the White House. It's too far removed from our influence but local politics is within a voter's reach and maybe this is where education and information needs to be aimed.