Oops, this could get embarrassing for the US

[harm_less]

That isn't what constantly amazes me though. The bit that does is why we still go along with the story that these are the leaders of the free world.

Seems to me they are a backwards looking nation, led by crooks and appeasers. We could do better. We SHOULD do better.

Ah yes, the 'free world'. Which apparently is fairly keen to dictate to other countries which particular 'freedoms' they may or may not have.

Perhaps the answer is to oblige ordinary people - the sort who'd run a mile from any power over others - into becoming politicians, but of a very different sort? 

With the best possible & fairest actual outcome for as many as possible. Except...it sounds to good & simple to be possible.

A good friend of mine lived and ran a business in California for close to 20 years. His take on the US political system is that it is only one party away from being a dictatorial communistic nation. The financial threshold required to construct any sort of opposition to the two incumbent political parties is insurmountable so they are very much stuck in a tweedle dee/tweedle dum situation with no change likely to the present, particularly as the polarisation between the existing factions has ramped up so much over the Trump era.