Great post @meno, love the comparison to the bumbling fool Menem :-) Just a thought here, one you've become used to from me by now:

In many ways it emulates all the things I happen to not appreciate about traditional politics...

That was to be expected because... it's not politics but plain and simple economics. I say it in almost all my posts and all my reactions, and I'll keep saying it until people realize that everything they hate about politics and politicians is born from the mis-use of economical power and not political power. How can one be against politics or dislike anything in politics if politicians are coming from the people, chosen by the people to work for the people? That's what politics should be about in a democracy, but capitalist economics always, always mutilates it into a plutocracy where dollars and not the people do the talking and voting.

I can only hope more people see this and follow your lead, by not looking after themselves, but looking after the community they're an integral part of. Really, the only way you can do better yourself is if that community does better. The happier the community, the happier you can be, and not the other way around. Saying this, or acting like this now has a giant risk of being labelled a Marxist or Communist or even a plain old loser, I know. But I also know it to be the truth, so I don't care ;-)