i'd say realistic and resigned.

Congress, the media, and all the others have already made it crystal clear that it's not their priority, no matter that the majority of Americans want it and need it.

And us voters for the most part aren't willing to punish our elected officials by voting them out of office in spite of them repeatedly acting against our interests and for things that hurt us--and we're in fact told we have to keep them and give them more power, because the alternative is even worse.

Until there's a real price to pay for not doing what we want, why would they do what we want? We're not the ones funding them, and not the ones holding them accountable.

"... the political calculation is that these groups will not defect to the Republican side in an election, and so there is no political capital to be gained by making economic or policy promises to them. The Village with its multi-million dollar celebrity talking heads is part of this elite. They agree about a need for a sound fiscal policy (even when that policy is bailing out the failures of Wall Street) and for austerity for the lower classes. ..."

-- http://anglachelg.blogspot.com/2008/10/c... -- Culture Club